The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has ruled out the possibility of Nigerians living in the Diaspora to participate in the forthcoming 2015 general elections.
Speaking at a one-day public hearing on a proposed amendment to the 2010 Electoral Act, organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters in Abuja yesterday, the commission’s Chairman, Prof. Atahiru Jega, also stated that a lot still needed to be done for such, and the much promoted electronic voting system to be executed by INEC.
He said the constitution would have to be amended to enable Nigerians abroad participate in general elections and the use of electronic voting, adding, however, that it would be practically impossible for the commission to conduct elections for Nigerians living outside the country, even if the Constitution was amended to allow them do so.
Giving assurances that the 2015 elections would be creditably executed, Jega said: “In order to ensure transparency and credibility of elections, the commission shall accredit reputable election observers and monitors and shall grant them access throughout the process of the election for the purposes of monitoring.”
In his keynote address to declare the event open, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, said the public hearing was part of a chain of events in the course of amending the Electoral Act, adding that as the country approached the 2015 elections, it was important that every aspect of the regulations governing the conduct of the elections were tidied up.
Tambuwal said if the electoral law was technically and morally sound, it would go a long way in ensuring free and fair elections in 2015 and beyond.
National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr. Yunusa Tanko, who was among the several stakeholders at the event, said the issue of cross-carpeting by politicians should be included in the proposed amendment to make it more stringent for anybody to cross-carpet after winning an election on a given party’s platform.
The 29 amendments, if passed, would make the existing Electoral Act to ensure a level-playing field for all participants in the electoral process, as well as ensure more transparent process of conducting elections in the country.Source: Blueprint
