The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), according to the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), would be held accountable for all irregularities related to the election on Saturday.
The congress stated that it had hoped that in this year’s election, the problems with Nigerian electioneering would have been largely addressed and fixed, allowing Nigerians to have more credible elections.
“We had high hopes that this election cycle will be far better than the previous ones given the huge lessons learnt from past elections by INEC, but thus far, we are far from being convinced.
“The report reaching us from around the country is contrary to the high hopes which we have earlier had for today’s exercise.
“The experiences of yesterday ought to have prepared INEC to conduct a better election this year. We had hoped that voting materials would reach their destinations in time so that the various time frames would be strictly adhered to preventing the disenfranchisement of potential voters. Report reaching us paints a rather frightening picture that in many areas around the country, as late as noon, voting materials were yet to get to the polling units.
“We are worried at the reports of manifest incidences of violence in some polling units and areas where activities of thugs were pronounced even in the presence of security agencies. INEC ought to ensure that voters performed their rights in secrecy to avoid exposing them to the violence that had been reported.
“The sanctity of the ballot must be protected and this will not be the case if the police and INEC officials fail to perform their duties to Nigerians. Guidelines for voting must be followed to protect the rights of voters at the polling units guaranteeing that their choices remain private. This builds confidence and ensures large turnout in the elections.
“INEC must deal with the voter suppression and ballot box snatching that is going on in some parts of the country. If voters are beaten at the polling units, the signal to other voters is to stay at home and not vote. This disenfranchises; it is undemocratic and thus unacceptable.
“It is important that INEC understands that this election is also a referendum on its capacity to conduct free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria. It should not, therefore, fail itself and Nigerians again but prove wrong, those who have come to believe that it would be difficult for INEC to raise the bar in election conduct in Nigeria.
“There is no other institution that will be held responsible except INEC if it fails to live up to the expectations of Nigerians given the huge resources invested in it, the pivotal nature of this election and the enormous time it had in preparing for this cycle. Its experiences in election conduct must be brought to bear in this election to make it successful. Every organisation is as rich as its various experiences and repertoire of information. INEC’s should not be different.
“To this end, the NLC will hold INEC directly responsible for all the anomalies associated with this election. All eligible voters must be given the opportunity to exercise their democratic fights to vote for the candidates of their choice. Anything short of this will be unacceptable to Nigerian workers.
“INEC should immediately sit up and correct what is happening. Its monitoring mechanism must swing into action and correct what is already being observed to avert what we are already observing in the field. If INEC gets it right, Nigeria will get it right. This election offers us such hope and INEC is at the centre of this hope.” the statement said.
Source: The Sun
