The former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega, has hailed the commission for standing its ground on the shift of the electoral timetable.
He said a shift of the timetable, as being pushed for by parties, would be a recipe for disaster.
Jega, who spoke yesterday in Abuja at a one day colloquium on emerging issues that would shape the 2023 general election, organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), condemned parties for putting undue pressure on INEC.
He said a shift of one timeframe would virtually affect other activities of the commission.
Jega advised the commission, parties and stakeholders to work together for a successful election.
The ex-INEC chairman, who condemned the trend of money politics playing out in the ongoing primaries, accused the political class of practising plutocracy and not a democracy.
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He said: “I praise INEC for not yielding to the pressure of shifting the date for the primaries. The timetable was set after serious contemplation and under the new electoral law; shifting timetable is a recipe for electoral disaster because one time frame virtually affects the others. Political parties had since February to prepare for the primaries, but they believe when they put pressure on INEC, the commission will definitely yield. But I thank INEC for not yielding. So, the electoral commission, politicians and stakeholders must work together within this timeframe to achieve a credible election.
“Changing the timeframe will be a disaster because it affects other plans set aside for the election. It may even affect the outcome of the election.
“The aspect of money politics being played out during these primaries is a big issue of concern. Politics is now an issue of plutocracy (government for the rich by the rich), rather than democracy. The National Assembly altered the electoral act, then increased the threshold of how much a candidate can spend on election finance ,which we all should oppose, but were busy opposing the issue of electronic transmission and we lost focus on the issue on ground. They used that as an opportunity to smuggle huge amount a candidate can spend on election finance. With that the big parties now have huge amount, which exclude women, young people and People with Disabilities (PWDs) contesting due to the amount. So more attention should be focused on that. We need to make elections less costly for all to afford.”
The Director of CDD, Idayat Hassan, said the level of political violence witnessed in the country in the last five months was unprecedented, with at least 76 incidents recorded nationwide.
She said: “At the same time, the level of political violence witnessed in the last five months is unprecedented. Using data from ACLED, the Centre for Democracy and Development, politically related conflicts in Nigeria between January 1, 2022 and May 13, 2022 showed at least 76 incidents of politically-related violence in Nigeria.
“The violent incidents cut across 24 states and the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, with the Northcentral having the most number of incidents and Southeast recording the most fatalities.
“The new electoral act, while creating a new dawn for electoral administration, also has implications and challenges, particularly as the parties grapple to comprehend and comply with the new act.”