By Ige Sunday
Should the president continue to appoint the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and, by so doing, exert what critics call undue interference on the nation’s electoral system in favour of the ruling party and to the detriment of the opposition?
That is the question concerned stakeholders are attempting to answer as the tenure of the incumbent INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, and some National Commissioners of the electoral body expires in November, and must be replaced ahead of the 2027 polls.
Some stakeholders say the current process is flawed and are campaigning for the strengthening of the independence and professionalism of INEC to ensure credible elections and inspire public trust in the electoral process.
Specifically the stakeholders want the Constitution amended to remove the power to appoint the INEC Chairman, National Commissioners and Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the president and introduce a multi-stakeholder approach to appointments into INEC.
“The scope of consultations should expand beyond the Council of State to other critical stakeholders like traditional, and religious institutions including civil society (Relevant Sections of the Constitution – S 154, 158 and Section 14, Part F of the Third Schedule)”, the stakeholders (partners), including Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, PLAC, and the International Press Centre (IPC), and 12 others, said during a roundtable during which they unveiled a document, titled, Citizens Memorandum for Reform of the Electoral Legal Framework, in Abuja last week.
The document, in two parts, lists 37 recommendations on reforming the electoral process and appointments into the leadership of INEC is only one of them.
“The Citizens memo contains 37 recommendations across 15 strategic objectives and address 16 priority reform areas. Part 1 contains 21 recommendations for constitutional amendments while Part 11 proposes 16 amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act”, the document says in its introduction.
Director of Programs for Yiaga Africa, Cynthia Mbamalu, Executive Director of IPC, Mr Lanre Arogundade, Executive Director of Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Dr Akin Akingbulu, and Senior Lecturer at Paul University, Awka, Mr Tony Onyima, made presentations to the audience which included senior editors of notable media houses and top members of the civil society.
Vanguard