INEC: 2019 Election Primaries, Most Rancorous in Nigeria’s History…

396 court cases pending

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the primaries conducted by various political parties ahead of the 2019 general elections, were the most rancorous in the history of Nigeria.

The electoral body lamented that internal party democracy is still a source of concern in the country’s electoral progress.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this Friday in Abuja at a-two day capacity building workshop for journalists covering the commission’s activities.

He noted that across the world, the media is a powerful tool for protecting the right of citizens to information, giving voice to the people, providing platforms for diverse opinions and creating conditions for tolerance and understanding.

However, in strict compliance with the electoral timetable, the INEC Chairman said that campaigns for Governorship and State Assembly elections will begin today, December 1, 2018.

He restated the commission’s commitment to free, fair and credible elections.

Yakubu stated: “Unfortunately, we have also witnessed some of the most acrimonious party primaries in our recent history. Internal party democracy is still a source of concern to our electoral progress.

“So far, the Commission has been joined in 396 pending actions in various courts across the country arising from the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates by political parties.

“We have similarly received 302 requests for Certified True Copies (CTC) of documents, mainly our monitoring reports of party primaries and copies of personal particulars of candidates. These requests are obviously a prelude to more court actions.

“In addition, we have also received 52 petitions and protests from aggrieved party aspirants. The implication of these challenges is that as we prepare for the general elections, we are also going to grapple with pre-election litigations.

He added: “Parties that fail to respect the democratic process in selecting candidates during primary elections lose the moral right to complain about secondary elections. I wish to reassure the nation that we shall continue to maintain our neutrality as the umpire, registrar and regulator of political parties.”