Council Poll: Tough Credibility Challenges For DSIEC Written by Gbenga Akinfenwa AS Deltans count down to the October 25 Local Government Election, the state electoral body may run into credibility issues if it doesn’t urgently address some critical matters. One of the challenges is the allegation by some councils that their areas have been deleted from the voter register. Others are allegations by the two main opposition parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Labour Party (LP). APC is alleging that with the preparation of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), ahead the 2015 general elections as it concerns voters registration, opposition parties are likely to be short-changed at the council election. To LP, there is an alleged plan to favour the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to foist the party’s candidates on the hapless people at the grassroots. Based on INEC’s recent announcement of the cancellation of voters’ register for Ika South local government caused by what it termed technical or computer errors, communities in the council have been forced to protest, in order to seek redress. Other councils too are apprehensive that issue might rear its ugly head in their domain. During the protest, the President-General of Agbor community, Major-General Nick Agbogun (rtd), said they are out to ensure that all eligible voters are not disenfranchised, a situation which the missing voter register would apparently create. In its petition, the communities said, “The cancellation has disfranchised tens of thousands of eligible voters in the area and therefore is decidedly unacceptable. The cancellation stands in breach of INEC’s statutory obligations to maintain and display a valid voter register for every constituent district of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, including Ika South Local Government Area.” They therefore demand amendments so that eligible voters, who are willing to vote in the council poll and future elections would not be disqualified on account of the missing INEC register. “In the unlikely event that the cancelled register is impracticable, we urge that you grant an adequate extension of time of no less than six weeks to conduct a credible and inclusive voter registration in Ika LGA,” the petition read. While reacting on the issue, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Gesila Khan, reportedly disclosed that the matter had gone beyond her as only the INEC headquarters in Abuja could look into the grievances of the people. For APC, it is of the opinion that if INEC insists that only the possession of a Permanent Voter Card (PVCs) would entitle a prospective voter to vote during the poll, PDP would use the opportunity to outsmart other parties. The party’s chairman, Prophet James Ode-Orue said INEC could not be trusted since it announced that those who registered will be issued Temporary Voters Cards (TVCs) and will be replaced later with the PVCs before the general election. As far as he is concerned, time is too short for all that. The party stated that a similar scenario occurred in 2011, saying it is not sure the issue would be addressed before the poll. On its part, the chairmanship candidate on the platform of LP Mr. Wilfred Oghiagbepha, who raised the alarm on the alleged plan by the electoral body to favour PDP, warned that there would be consequences should the PDP attempt to rig. However, DSIEC Chairman, Mr. Moses Ogbe has promised that the election will be credible and transparent. He appealed to all participating political parties to play the game according to the rules. Ogbe called on the state government to provide adequate security for the poll to enable electorate exercise their franchise and wait for their votes to be counted. “Nigeria has wonderful laws and policies but lack the human capacity to drive them. I assure you that every vote must count in this election,” he assured.
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:34:55 +0000
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