Seventy five of the 91 registered political parties yesterday in Abuja passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, saying the 2019 general elections met the expectation of majority of Nigerians.
Some of the parties were Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), Labour Party (LP), African Democratic Congress (ADC), All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP), Alliance of Social Democrats (ASD). Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP), Coalition for Change (C4C), KOWA Party, Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) and Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) among others.
The chairmen of the parties who spoke at a two-day roundtable on the evaluation of the last elections in Abuja, however, blamed operatives of some security agencies, particularly the military and the police, for the noticeable shortcomings that might have been witnessed in the elections. They urged President Muhammadu Buhari to speedily sign the Electoral Amendment Bill into law to save the country from the challenges associated with the current electoral law.
The roundtable with the theme: “The Role and Performances of Stakeholders in the 2019 General Elections, Issues, Challenges and Prospects”, was attended by the immediate past Vice President of Sierra Leone, Alhaji Sam Sumana, and chaired by Prof. Remi Aiyede. In her address, the Acting Executive Director of the Centre for Transparent Advocacy (CTA), co-organisers of the event, Faith Nwadishi, said INEC proved quite independent in the way and manner it responded to the unexpected challenges thrown its way by the stakeholders in the process and other unforeseen circumstances during the last general elections. She said, “Of note is how it bravely prevented the ruling party from fielding candidates in Zamfara in its determination to follow the rules no matter whose ox is gored.
More crucially, on the ground, during election and voting day, it refused to be intimidated by threats and violence unleashed on its officials and ad hoc staff leading to some certificates of return being withheld by INEC, though this is now subject to litigations.” In the communique of the conference, the chairmen explained that the decision to commend the INEC chairman was anchored on his commitment to ensure that things were done in a transparent manne
Read more: https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/75-parties-pass-confidence-vote-on-inec-chair.html
