INEC wants April election date

From left: Speaker, House of Representatives, Oladimeji Bankole, General Secretary, National Union of Textiles Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria (NUTGTWN),Alhaji Issa Aremu and INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, at the 22nd Annual National Education Conference of National Union of Textiles, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria in Kaduna yesterday.

The 2011 general elections will hold within three weeks in April, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has proposed in a new time table to be presented to the National Assembly. A senior official of INEC told Daily Trust yesterday that the new timeline for the 2011 electoral process as requested by the National Assembly is ready and will be forwarded today for consideration.

The official said after due consideration of the process, “INEC has come up with a timetable as requested by the National Assembly indicating all datelines of activities to be carried out. As the chairman has always said, the commission is proposing to conduct elections by April and it could span three weeks of the month.”

On the issue of staggered elections as proposed in the earlier timetable which has been rejected by leaders of majority of the political parties, the official said INEC has no power to change the provision.

Reacting to the matter, Chairman Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Ayogu Eze (PDP, Enugu North) said the National Assembly is ready to consider all proposals sent by INEC or political parties on the elections.

He said, “If INEC sends a proposal containing the issue of staggered elections, we will consider it, and if political parties feel strongly about it let them send representation to the National Assembly for consideration.”

Explaining the next line of action of the commission, the official said the National Assembly requested for comprehensive details for extension of the election timelines and INEC has prepared the new dateline of activities to be carried out between now and April 2011.

According to him, “The National Assembly has asked INEC to present details of the new timetable that will extend elections up to April 2010 and INEC is ready to send it to them as requested. INEC has no choice in this matter than to go by the request of the National Assembly.”

To facilitate INEC’s request to shift the elections, President Goodluck Jonathan has sent a bill seeking to amend the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010.

In a letter to the Senate, President Jonathan said INEC has alerted him on the need for time extension as it faces difficulties to conduct credible elections in January due to shortage of time. He said, “The request is predicated on the inability of INEC to implement its detailed action plan with regards to planning, procurement and deployment for registration of voters and elections, within the timelines in the context of the Electoral Act.”

Jonathan expressed support for INEC’s request saying, “I hereby propose the amendment of the relevant laws, through the inclusion of transitional provisions which will enable INEC conduct general elections between now and the end of April 2011.”

The National Assembly has promised to hurriedly consider INEC’s request for extension of time by completing necessary legislations and amendment to enabling laws to ensure free, fair and credible elections by 2011.