11th February, 2014
Nnamdi Felix/Abuja
The early release of the time-table of the 2015 general elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission has continued to attract mixed reactions among the political class
The election time-table released via a statement signed by the Secretary to the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, had the Presidential and National Assembly elections fixed for St. Valentine’s day, February 14 2015, while governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections were fixed for 28 February 2015.
The statement added that the governorship election in Ekiti State would hold on 21 June 2014 while that of Osun State would hold on 9 August 2014. It was however silent on when politicians could declare their interest in contesting for any of the offices. Albeit, analysts are of the view that by making the time-table public, INEC has technically declared that electioneering can commence.
The Electoral Act 2010 which empowers the electoral body to fix time-table for the conduct of elections also prescribes a time frame within which political parties shall submit their list of candidates for elections to the commission. Section 31 (1) of the Electoral Act states that, “Every political party shall not later than 60 days before the date appointed for the general election under the provisions of this Act, submit to the Commission in the prescribed forms list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections.
The release of the time-table by INEC came barely 24 hours after President Goodluck Jonathan told CNBC Africa that he was awaiting the go-ahead from the INEC, in line with the Electoral Act, to decide on his interest.“
“INEC have a time frame within which candidates are expected to declare. If you declare before that time you are actually contravening the Nigerian laws. So I won’t tell anybody that I am contesting or that I’m not contesting. It is not proper for me to do that. It is not proper for any Nigerian to declare any interest now.
“If you do that you are contravening our electoral laws,” the President told the television station on the sidelines at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland.
The release of the time-table soon after the President’s interview in Switzerland may have fueled ongoing speculation that the presidency is the brain behind the election sequence which placed the Presidential election and the National Assembly elections first before that of governorship and state Houses of Assembly, which will hold two weeks after.
First salvo against the sequence of elections was fired by the Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who accused the presidency of influencing the electoral umpire to schedule the presidential election first so as to create a “bandwagon effect” in subsequent elections in favour of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
“I don’t know how they influenced the Independent National Electoral Commission to put the Presidential election and National Assembly election first and then two weeks after, that of the House of Assembly and governorship. I think the presidential election should come last,” he said.
INEC was swift in its denial of any presidential influence on the schedule. Mr. Kayode Idowu, Special Adviser on Media to the INEC chairman, stated that the commission is backed by law to fix the time table and schedule of elections as it deems necessary and that it is neither here nor there which comes first. The commission insisted that what matters is that the arrangement of the elections be done in such ways that it considers most suitable for the commission’s operational planning.
The presidency also reacted to Kwankwaso’s allegation through Senator Ben Obi, Special Adviser to President Jonathan on Inter-Party Affairs, who categorically stated that the presidency had no hand in the issuance of the election timetable and the sequence of the elections contained therein. Obi added that they were not even expecting the release of the time table by the electoral commission.”INEC has a constitutional responsibility to take care of elections. It is that responsibility they have adhered to. For me, it is part of the transformation agenda that those who are given responsibilities to perform do so without let or hindrance.That is what the Jega-led INEC has done. Nobody was expecting it. If anybody was saying that they were under some influence that person is wrong in his presumption. It is the independent nature of the various organisations under this administration that is coming to play. We must thank the President for making sure that these organisations have a free atmosphere to function.” Obi added.
He supported the electoral body on the sequence of the elections and averred that having the Presidential and National Assembly elections before that of the state Houses of Assembly was neither here nor there and argued that past elections had not followed any strict order. A review of past elections in the country beginning from the Second Republic supports Senator Obi’s argument to the effect that elections have not followed any strict order. In 1979, the governorship election was held first on 28 July, followed by the presidential polls on 11 August. In 1983, the term “bandwagon effect’ was introduced into Nigeria’s political lexicon when the presidential election was conducted first, on 6 August, while the governorship poll came up a week later, on 13 August.
The elections were characterised by widespread rigging, which the military also cited as one of their excuses for wresting power four months later, on 31 December 1983. Following Nigeria’s return to civil rule in 1999, local council elections were held on 5 December 1998, followed by the governorship election on 9 January 1999 and the presidential election on 27 February 1999.
However, in 2003, there was a marked departure from the two patterns already established. The gubernatorial and presidential elections were held on the same day and same time on 19 April while in 2007, the governorship and state assembly elections were held first, on 14 April, while the presidential and National Assembly elections were held on 21 April.
In 2011, the Presidential election which took place on 16 April, came before the governorship election held on 26 April.
Those who applauded the early release of the election time table noted that it will help reduce pressure on the people associated with elections and commended the Prof. Attahiru Jega-led commission for the release, which they said was a right step in the right direction. However, those who criticised the commission principally based their criticism on the sequence of the election and not on the early release of the election time table. In his reaction, former president of Ohaneze Ndigbo, Dozie Ikedife, said the early release of the timetable would help reduce election pressure, noting that it is the prerogative of INEC to release the timetable anytime it wants, but expressed the hope that the time table is not skewed to favour or disfavour anybody.
Similarly, former Anambra State governor, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ezeife, noted that Nigerians must know whether it is good for the presidential election to go with the governorship or whether it is good for the presidential poll to go with that of the National Assembly the same day or any other combination. He added that it is important that the electoral body adopt a combination that gives the best result for the nation’s nascent democracy. “We, the politicians, will study the timetable and make sure it is proper and that it will lead to the best result. If it is not, we will oppose it, but we cannot oppose it for nothing. There is need to study the time-table to ensure that it will achieve the best results,” the former governor reportedly stated.
On its part, ruling Peoples Democratic Party, through its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, expressed confidence in winning the Presidential election. It also stated that it hopes to win more states in the governorship election to increase the number of states under its control from the present 18. The party recently lost five of its governors to the opposition All Progressives Congress.
Labour Party took a somewhat circumspect disposition in its reaction to the released election time-table. The party’s national chairman, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, expressed surprise at the sequence of the election, where INEC plans to hold presidential election before the governorship election, and stated it is good that the commission released the time-table on time but that his party was going to look at it and discuss it. He however noted that it is not good enough that the presidential election will hold before the governorship election.
Culled from TheNEWS magazine