Some
constitutional lawyers have said that despite the postponement of the
February general elections by six weeks, the May 29 handover date for
incumbents still stands.
They said the deadline for the conduct of
the elections, as stipulated by the Electoral Act, is one month to the
expiration of the current tenure.
In separate interviews with SUNDAY PUNCH on
Saturday, the senior lawyers said although the commission has the
powers under the constitution to shift polls, the postponement of this
year’s elections would affect the electorate, the political parties and
the electoral umpire negatively.
They berated the Independent National Electoral Commission for postponing the February general elections by six weeks.
Foremost constitutional lawyer, Professor
Itse Sagay, decried the postponement of the poll. He, however, said the
six-week extension was still within the law.
Sagay said, “The issue is not the
postponement, it is about the trust the electorate have in INEC. How
does the postponement affect the morale of the people? How does it
affect the credibility of the commission?
“It is a mistake and I hope that there are no very severe consequences for our democracy as a result of such a mistake.”
Another lawyer, Mr. Tayo Oyetibo, said
the postponement was constitutional as long as the election is held
within the days stipulated before the handover date. He, however, said
shifting the exercise had its adverse effects.
“The problem with this current scenario
is that the poll shift will likely demoralise the electorate who have
been eager and might have made sacrifices to vote in the February 14
election. It will also mean the political parties will have to spend
more as campaigns will continue,” the SAN said.
Similarly, Mr. Afolabi Fashanu (SAN),
said as long as the postponement did not exceed the handover date, there
would be no constitutional crisis.
“It is unfortunate that INEC has
demonstrated that it was ill-prepared for the general elections. This is
evident in its difficulty to successfully distribute the PVC,” he
added.
In the same vein, another legal expert,
Mr. Emeka Ngige (SAN), said INEC had shown Nigeria to be a “never-ready
country of unserious people where anything goes.”
He said even though INEC had the
opportunity to shift the poll not closer than 30 days to the handover
date, it should not have postponed it that far.
Ngige said, “The European Union has left
their various homes and countries. The Americans have come here to
observe the elections. They have already started mapping out their areas
of coverage for distribution of non-sensitive materials and other
things.
“Now, they are going to meet an
announcement that elections have been postponed for six weeks. We expect
them to go back to their countries and return in the next six weeks, as
if they have no other thing to do.”
In his submission, Mike Ozekhome (SAN),
stated that the Electoral Act gives INEC the power to postpone elections
by a period of not more than 150 days before the expiration of the
present term (May 29) and not more than 30 days before the end of the
current administration.
He said, “It gives INEC the power to do
so when it believes that there is danger in holding the elections, due
to, for example, insurgency or insurrection. That power is statutory and
it is with INEC. INEC, as the official organiser of the elections, can
only deal with its aspect of the elections, which does not include
security, for example. Both INEC staff and the voters need security.
“I understand that they have done this on
the ground that they want to carry out a final onslaught on Boko Haram
in the North-East. Whether that is true or not, I do not know. But the
important thing is that, under the constitution, May 29 is a sacrosanct
day.”
Also, human rights lawyer, Mr. Festus
Keyamo, described Saturday a sad day for the country. He said while INEC
had all the powers to postpone elections, there were indications that
the Peoples Democratic Party could allegedly manipulate the electoral
umpire.
He said, “The ruling party is imposing
its will on the umpire. What started as a joke when the National
Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, flew the election postponement kite in
London has become an ugly reality. The implication of this is that
Nigerians should be vigilant from now on.”
No comments:
Post a Comment