Vote monitoring: INEC insists voters can stay

Posted by admin Elections 2011, INEC Politics, Top Stories Friday, April 1st, 2011

Nigerians who will file out today to cast their ballots have the backing of the Independent National Electoral Commission to stay back after voting and peacefully monitor the exercise, if they so desire.

They are also free to go to the polling centres with their cell-phones.

Some state electoral commissioners who spoke with SATURDAY PUNCH in separate interviews gave the indication on Friday.

They confirmed that INEC had not given any contrary directive on the issue on whether voters could stay back at the voting centre or not.

The confusion over the conduct of voters was earlier laid to rest on Tuesday when the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, clarified the government’s position on the matter.

They had said that voters were at liberty to stay at a considerable distance from the polling centres and observe the exercise peacefully.

But the National Security Adviser, Gen. Owoye Azazi, on Wednesday, introduced a fresh dimension to the issue when he insisted that voters would not be allowed to stay back and witness the collation of ballots, which could be a “recipe for mayhem.”

Querying the essence of voters waiting behind at polling centres, he had said, “How do people defend their votes? Is it by helping INEC to count votes? It could be a recipe for mayhem. I think that the IG has cleared the air on this. Let people vote and go.”

Reacting to Azazi’s statement, the Chief Press Secretary to the commission’s chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, had said that the commission would meet with security agencies on the issue on Thursday.

He had said, “After voting, anyone who wants to stay to witness the counting of votes should feel free to stay on the condition that they are orderly and peaceful.

“The law provides for anybody who gets disorderly, unruly and violent at whatever point to be ejected. It is not only during accreditation and voting.”

But the Cross River State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Mike Igini, told SATURDAY PUNCH in a telephone interview that he had not received any contrary directive. He assured law-abiding voters of INEC’s backing.

He said that while the Electoral Act forbade anyone from loitering or campaigning around the voting arena, INEC was empowered to make law for the conduct of elections.

He noted that one of such laws, which had to be made in the interest of transparency and accountability, was that voters were free to vote and stay around to see the votes counted.

He said, “We will count the votes there at the polling centres. We will even go as far as to pasting the result of the votes counted to show that these things are clear.

“I do not want us to drag this issue too far. I believe it is just a case of viewing things differently. One hundred lawyers may see things from different ways, but that is why the court is there to arbitrate. We should not be seen to be contradicting one another.”

In the same vein, the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Adekunle Ogunmola, said that the initial directive from INEC stayed as there had been no other directive.

He said voters were free to wait after voting, but should keep a reasonable distance.

“I am yet to get a contrary directive from INEC about the voter participation in the electoral process. When that comes, it will be communicated,” he said.

-Punchwp_posts