THE National Assembly elections got under way in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja yesterday amidst tight security in various parts of the city. The renewed security came about as a result of the election eve bomb blast at the Suleja Zonal Office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Niger State.

Meanwhile, at the National Headquarters of INEC, what would have been a major fire disaster was averted by the timely intervention of by standers. The incident, which affected the police post located at the entrance gate to the commission, was reportedly caused by spark of electrical materials. But there was no reported casualty in the incident.

The INEC boss described the turnout of voters as one of the best in recent times. He said: “Frankly, from our own assessment of the reports that we have received so far, the turnout is massive; massive in the sense that if you compare the situation in the developing countries, the turnout for this kind of parliamentary elections on average is not more than 65 percent, and what we are seeing really is anywhere between 75 and 85 percent turnout in spite of the disappointment of last Saturday (April 2).

“So, frankly, it is very clear and evident that Nigerians want their votes to count and they want a credible election and when they see good intention and willingness to provide that opportunity, it appears they have now seen it happen and they are now out massively to exercise that franchise.”

The INEC boss said so far, the commission had not received any categorical report of underage voters, “which, in itself, is an illegal act.“

He said the commission was working with the security agencies to ensure that wherever there were incidences of underage persons coming to the polling units, they should be arrested and “we have asked the community leaders to cooperate, hoping that the problems would be solved once and for all.”

Jega, who was scheduled to monitor the process yesterday, had to shelve the idea and instead monitored the exercise from the Situation Room established as a coordinating room to monitor the developments arising from the conduct of the polls.

The INEC boss described the conduct of the elections as generally peaceful and orderly, except in some reported casers where there were delays in the distribution of election materials.

In such cases, he said the commission had granted an hour extension for the accreditation. His words: “In terms of conduct, Nigerians have been cooperating in ensuring a smooth process.”

He, however, confirmed reports of alleged attempts to divert ballot materials in Delta and Bayelsa States. In Bayelsa, for instance, a serving senator was caught luring NYSC members to divert election materials to his personal use. Jega said the commission was working with the security agencies towards prosecuting the suspect for alleged electoral offences.

Jega, who spoke on a variety of issues, denounced the Suleja bomb blast and ordered the suspension of election in the area till April 26 when the Governorship/State Assembly is scheduled to hold.

According to him, what happened in Suleja was unfortunate and an attempt by unpatriotic Nigerians to ensure that the process did not succeed.

He said: “As of this morning, information we have is that about 13 people died so far in that unfortunate incident. W have condemned it; we have pleaded with Nigerians and the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) members in particular that we should not allow these people to achieve their objectives to disrupt the process to succeed and we should ensure that the process succeeds and it is the responsibility of all of us Nigerians to ensure that they don’t succeed.”

The INEC confirmed that some of the corps were withdrawing from the exercise on the promptings of their parents. According to him, “it is natural when these kinds of unfortunate incidents occur, some people will be afraid, people will be scared.

“We have received reports where in some cases, parents ask their children to abandon the process, and we had to work extra hard to be able to get the replacement.

“It is natural people will be afraid; that is the objective of those who have done it: to instill fear in everybody, to ensure that voters don’t come out so that it will not work so that they can derail the entire process.”

But he added: “We, as Nigerians, have resolved to say that we want free, fair and credible elections and all those who don’t want it done are doing this thing to undermine the process, but we should not allow them to succeed.

“We had to suspend the elections there in Suleja, which is very unfortunate. I went there last night and visited the scene and visited the hospital, but it had to be done.

“Logistically, they are supposed to be out in the field this morning, but since some of them have been killed, there is no way we could recoup organizationally and proceed and out of respect and sympathy for the deceased and those who lost their loved ones, we felt that the best thing under the circumstances is to postpone the election in that area.”

-Guardian

Posted by admin on Apr 10 2011. Filed under Elections 2011, INEC Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry