Violence: INEC moves to review electoral legal framework

…Sets to hold re-run polls in 11 states this month

Worried by the prevalence of violence during polls across the country with determination to curb the menace, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has disclosed plans to review the electoral legal framework.

This came as the commission expressed readiness to hold re-run elections on January 25th this month in 28 constituencies across 11 states of the Federation in compliance with the orders of Election Petition Tribunals.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this on Friday, at the first 2020 meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES, in Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

Yakubu had earlier announced the attendance and inclusion of the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC Mr Ibrahim Magu as well as the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye as members of ICCES.

In his address, made available, Yakubu recalled that the last meeting held on 11 December 2019, reviewed the security arrangements for the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections in particular.

According to INEC boss, “At our last meeting, we expressed concern about the dimension that illegal deployment of financial resources to influence the outcome of elections, including vote-buying at polling units on Election Day, has assumed.

“It is the responsibility of the security agencies to secure the environment for the successful conduct of elections.

The purpose of security deployment during elections is to protect the voters, election officials and materials, accredited observers, the media and to safeguard the integrity of the processes generally, including the polling units and collations centres.

“The commission is concerned that security deployment in some of the most recent elections left much to be desired.

There is more emphasis on numbers of security personnel to be deployed but less consideration on strategic deployment to protect the process, leaving the voters, election officials, party agents, observers, the media and even unarmed security personnel at polling units vulnerable to attacks by thugs and hoodlums.