The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

  • Senate dares INEC on Melaye’s recall

    Senate dares INEC on Melaye’s recall

    …Says exercise a waste of time

    The Senate on Tuesday dared the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over the commission’s decision to go ahead with the recall of Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi West) as demanded by his constituents.

    Describing the recall move as effort in futility, the Senate said the various stages passed so far in the exercise as facilitated by INEC were not in line with laid down constitutional procedures and guidelines.

    The lawmakers declared that it amounts to a waste of time by all the parties involved.

    This resolution followed a point of order raised against the move by Senator Melaye himself.

    Melaye drew the attention of the Senate to what he described as “supersonic move” by INEC to conclude work on the recall petitions written against him by some of his constituents, who he alleged were sponsored by the State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

    Melaye said, “The score of both valid and invalid votes in the election that brought me into the Senate in 2015 was 118,000 but my governor and his appointees in four days claimed they got signatures of over 188,000.

    “They got INEC data base of registered voters and copied in one writing into a recall register and forged all the signatures. As I speak to you, over 120 dead certificates issued by the National Population Commission and these people’s relations and families have sworn to affidavits and these certificates have been deposited.

    “The names of all these dead people appeared on the recall register submitted to INEC. 116 of my constituents have sworn to affidavits that their names and signatures appeared in the recall registers and that they were not the ones that signed it.

    “86 of my constituents have sworn to an affidavit that they were approached and that the government wants to carry out a fertilizer empowerment programme and requested for their PVCs and thereby deceived them into putting their names in the recall register”.

    Consequently the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu cited Sections 68, 69 and other relevant provisions  of the 1999 Constitution to fault the move. He wondered why INEC is not following the laid down procedure in carrying out the exercise.

    Ekweremadu said, “I am wondering why we are dissipating energy on this matter and wasting precious legislative time on a matter we should not.

    “What is happening in Kogi in respect of Senator Dino Melaye, as far as this constitution is concerned, is an exercise in futility. They are just wasting precious time because the constitution is clear on what should happen.

    “It is possible that the Attorney- General of Kogi State has not advised them properly. If he had done that, I am sure they would have applied their time to more meaningful ventures in Kogi State.

    Ekweremadu added that National Assembly, in 2010, amended the constitution in respect of Section 69, which deals with recall process of a federal lawmaker.

    According to him, the Section clearly stated that the numbers of those who are seeking to recall Senator Melaye from the Senate are supposed to line up somewhere in Kogi State with him and his lawyers, with each person verifying their signature.

    “When they are done with that they go back to Section 68, which states that the President of the Senate receives from the chairman of INEC the recall of the member. They would also present evidence satisfactory to the House or the Senate.

    “So they need to come back here and convince each and every one of us that they have done the correct thing. Unless they do that, they cannot even give effect to it. So why are we wasting our time. Let us move on and allow them to waste their time”, Ekweremadu said.

    In his contribution, the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, said, “As they say, 10 years is no joke in leadership, the Deputy Senate President has explained the processes. So let the process speak for itself.

    “I really don’t know why a lot of efforts are being wasted that should have gone into more important things. Eventually, it must come back here for us to decide whether it is satisfactory or not”.

     

  • Judgement nullifying my election missing – Senator Sekibo

    Judgement nullifying my election missing – Senator Sekibo

    The Senator representing Rivers East senatorial district, George Thompson Sekibo, Tuesday raised the alarmed that the judgement of the Rivers state elections petition tribunal that ordered his removal from the Senate could not be accessed.

    A three-man panel sitting in Abuja sacked Sekibo and declared Hon. Andrew Uchendu, the petitioner, winner of the senatorial election.

    The Tribunal directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the Certificate of Return issued to Sekibo and issue a fresh certificate of return Uchendu.

    The Tribunal held that the petitioner won the lawful majority vote cast during the Rivers Re-run legislative election of December 10, 2016‎

    Sekibo told reporters in Abuja on Tuesday that he will appeal the judgement to obtain justice.

    He noted that he and his team of lawyers have made several attempts to the tribunal to obtain the judgment but were told that judgement was missing.

    He said, “I have the right to appeal and we have made several attempts to the tribunal to obtain the judgement but they said it is missing and my judgement is the only one not seen. They have done their best and the onus is on me to appeal the judgement.

    “I want to appeal to the judgement panel to bring out the judgement they delivered on my matter. If my judgement continues to be missing, it is violation of justice and infringement on my fundamental human rights.”

    He said that the judgement was delivered by 9pm on June 28, 2017

     

  • Osun West: INEC warns against thugs at polling centres

    Osun West: INEC warns against thugs at polling centres

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appealed to  politicians  to keep thugs away from  polling and collation centres during Saturday’s   Osun West Senatorial bye election.

    Mr Baritor Kpagih, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for the by election, made the appeal during a  stakeholders meeting held on the election Monday in Osogbo.

    He gave an assurance that  security agents would be available during and after the election to provide security.

    Kpagih, however, appealed to politicians to keep their thugs away from polling and collation centres to make the job  of security personnel  easier.

    He said he had visited the 10 local government areas where the election would hold and discovered that people in those areas were highly  educated, civilised  and peaceful.

    Kpagih, who  expressed optimism  that the election would be conducted  peacefully,  said  “we are going to have a good day.’’

    He said 11 political parties would be taking part in the bye election while accreditation and voting would be carried out simultaneously on election day as from 8 am to 2 pm.

    The INEC official said only Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and smart card readers would be used for the election.

    He said  INEC would create voting points close to polling units to ease long queues and congestions at polling centres.

    The Osun Commissioner of Police, Mr Olufimihan Adeoye, also appealed to politicians to conduct themselves well  during and after the election.

    Adeoye equally advised  politicians and  candidates of political parties  to impress it on their supporters to  conduct themselves in  a manner  that would not violate the law.

    He said anybody caught violating the law would be dealt with as an individual and not as a member of a political party.

    The police boss said those without accreditation or clearance should stay away from  polling units  and  collation centres on election day.

    He also said  movement would be restricted between  6 am and 6 pm in the senatorial areas where the election would  take  place and advised  political parties  to mobilise their members to  vote during the outlined time.

    Mr Idowu Adebowale, the Osun Comptroller of the Nigerian Immigration Service, said only eligible Nigerians would be allowed to take part in the election.

    Adebowale said  that those married to Nigerians were still not qualified to vote except they had  formally applied and naturalised  to become  citizens.

    The Osun Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps, Mr Emmanuel Attah,  warned politicians and their agents not to harass, intimidate or attack any  corps member  engaged by INEC for the election.

    Attah said the NYSC was  an apolitical  institution and  corps members  should  not be molested

     

  • How NJC shields corrupt judges, by presidential adviser

    How NJC shields corrupt judges, by presidential adviser

    …Litigants now bypass lawyers to see judges directly

     

    Special Adviser to the President on Prosecution, Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Okoi Obono-Obla, has accused the National Judicial Council (NJC) of shielding corrupt judges.

    He said the NJC “descends heavily” on judges who have no godfathers or connection, but leaves judges known to be corrupt on the bench because of their family history and other considerations.

    Obono-Obla said corruption has become so rife in the judiciary that some litigants approach judges directly, bypassing their lawyers.

    He said a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) once confided him that that lawyers’ income was dropping because litigants prefer to go to judges directly.

    The presidential spoke in an interview with our correspondent in office in Abuja.

    Obono-Obla disagreed with those who complain about loss of high profile cases.

    He said critics should wait until all the cases have been decided by the Supreme Court.

    Obono-Obla said he agreed with the view expressed by Prof Itse Sagay (SAN) that the NJC was working against the anti-corruption crusade.

    “I support Prof Sagay’s position. There is no doubt about it. We’re not saying that if we take people to court, if there’s no evidence you should convict them. Just do the right thing. We hear a lot of stories. We have eyes. We know the system. I have practiced law for over 20 years. I know how the system works. We know the judges who are bad. It’s not all the judges who are bad. We know the bad ones.

    “NJC is not doing enough. If they’re doing enough, all judges that have undergone criminal investigation, that have allegedly collected money from lawyers, they should make a list of them and send to Mr President, and recommend their retirement from the Bench. And they should stop protecting some judges,” he said.

    Obono-Obla said several complaints have been taken to the NJC without being treated.

    He said judges who were expected to be sanctioned because of the severity of their offence were merely warned and placed on a “watchlist”.

    “We have taken complaints to NJC and they don’t want to handle them. Let me give you an instance. We reported a judge of the Rivers State High Court to the NJC. We got a petition from a woman who was elected a member of the River State House of Assembly under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    “Her opponent challenged her case. He went to the tribunal and lost. He appealed and lost. The Court of Appeal ordered that a certificate of return should be issued to her. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued a certificate of return to her.

    “Her opponent went to the Rivers State High Court to file a lawsuit against her. The judge issued an ex-parte order restraining her from taking her sit for one year. For one year, she was not allowed to be inaugurated in the Rivers State House of Assembly.

    “We petitioned against the judge as to why he should dabble into an election matter that the Court of Appeal had given a final judgment on.

    “National Assembly election petition cases terminate at the Court of Appeal, so any judge who is knowledgeable, who has integrity should know that he should not issue an ex-parte order to restrain somebody who has been elected and gone through the litigation process to the end.

    “Do you know what NJC did? It said that judge should be warned. And that he’s in their watch-list,” Obono-Obla said.

    He recalled that NJC once warned a judge in Akwa Ibom who restrained anti-graft agencies from arresting a former governor and placed him on a watchlist, but retired a judge who committed a lesser offence.

    “So, you see the inconsistency of the NJC,” he said.

    He called for a reform of the NJC, saying it was not objective in handling corruption cases against judges.

    Obono-Obla said: “I’ve expressed the view that you cannot be a judge in your own cause. That is a fundamental principle of the law of natural justice. Why should judges be the judges of judges? NJC should be made up of members of the civil society. They don’t need to be judges. They don’t need to be lawyers. We have a lot of members of the civil society who are people with integrity. They can look at complaints against a judge dispassionately and objectively.

    “We see them (NJC) trying to protect some classes of judges. Some because their parents or grand-parents were eminent jurists, their grand-fathers were Chief Justices of Nigeria, their fathers were at the Court of Appeal, then they’re seen as a children of the judiciary, then they have to protect them.

    “But if another judge who does not have that sort of pedigree commits an offence, they will descend heavily on that judge. We have seen it. That is why we have a lot of judges who have misbehaved but have become ‘institutions’.

    “A friend of mine who is a SAN filed a complaint against a senior judge of Federal High Court. He was very certain NJC would retire the judge. But the judge was exonerated. And the judge has dirty records. We know them.

    “Lawyers know them but they’re afraid to speak out because they fear judges will punish them or not give them good recommendation. But we have to change the system, because lawyers are no longer making money.

    “An SAN told me: ‘We may not come out and clap for you (the Federal Government). But we’re very happy with what you’re doing to cleanse the judiciary. As a SAN, I cannot pay my bills. Litigants don’t come to us again. They prefer to go to judges directly.

    “In the past, judges will not allow a politician to visit them and begin to discuss pending cases. But now you see Supreme Court justices allowing politicians to come and discuss cases before them. And they will not order their arrest?”

     

  • CVR: INEC flags-off registration in 25 additional centres in Lagos

    CVR: INEC flags-off registration in 25 additional centres in Lagos

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Monday flagged-off operations in the 25 additional centres approved for Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in the state.

    Flagging off the operations, Dr Adekunle Ogunmola, the National Commissioner of INEC in charge of Ogun, Ondo and Lagos State, said the creation of more centres showed that the commission was responsive.

    He said that the additional centres were put in place in response to the request of stakeholders for decentralisation of the CVR.

    Ogunmola, who inspected three of the centres at Oke-Meta Primary School in Somolu, Ijero Girls’ Junior High School, Lagos Mainland and Akanji Primary School, Surulere, expressed satisfaction with the facilities put in place.

    “We are trying to ascertain the level of our preparedness in our newly created centres in Lagos. In Lagos state, we have been given 25 additional centres.

    “We want to know whether people are sensitised enough and we saw that people have started registering at the new centres already,” the INEC boss said.

    Ogunmola said that the new centres would go a long way to capture many eligible voters before the 2019 general elections.

    “Eligible voters should come out and register to be able to fulfil their civic responsibility. The exercise is a continuous thing, unlike the previous one that would run for few weeks and end.

    “This exercise will run until third quarter of 2018. People have about one and half years to register,” he said.

    According to him, the commission will do everything humanly possible to deliver on its mandate to Nigerians without letting the nation down.

    Also speaking, Dr Mustapha Mudashiru, the Administrative Secretary of the commission in the state, said that INEC would not renege on its commitment to serve the people.

    Mudashiru urged eligible voters to patronise the new centres for registration, adding that the commission would not spare any effort at simplifying the exercise for voters.

    He noted that no fewer than 165 staff members had been trained to man the new centres with adequate facilities to carry out the exercise.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new centres are spread across 13 out of 20 Local Government areas of the state with high population of eligible voters.

    The centres were created in Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho, Eti-Osa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Mushin, Ojo, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, Surulere, and Lagos Mainland Local Government Areas.

    INEC started the nationwide CVR on April 27 to capture those who attained 18 years of age and others who did not register or those seeking replacement, transfer and others.

    The exercise had been limited to only INEC offices in the 20 local government areas of the state before the creation of the new centres.

  • CVR: Lagos gets 25 additional centres

    CVR: Lagos gets 25 additional centres

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State on Thursday said its national headquarters had approved the creation of 25 additional centres for Continuous Voter Registration  (CVR) in the state.

    Dr Mustapha Mudashiru, the Administrative Secretary of the commission in the state, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

    Mudashiru, who had earlier given a hint of a push for more centres, said the new ones, spread across 13 out of 20 Local Government areas of the state, would become operational from July 3.

    “The commission has graciously approved the creation of additional centres for the ongoing CVR exercise in Lagos State.

    “We have commenced two-day training for the officers that will man these newly created centres which will commence by Monday.

    “Eligible residents of Lagos should go to these centres to partake in the ongoing registration in order to participate in future elections.

    “This will go a long way in reducing crowd at existing centres, because it is one of the challenges we have been facing,” he said.

    According to him, the headquarters of the commission gave the approval to further ease the ongoing registration in the state.

    He said that the centres were created in Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho, Eti-Osa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Mushin, Ojo, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, Surulere, and Lagos Mainland Local Government Areas (LGAs).

    NAN reports that the two additional centres for Ajeromi-Ifelodun LGA are situated at Ibafon Primary School Wilmer and LA Primary School, Ojoo Road.

    The three additional centres for Alimosho LGA are situated at African Church Primary School, Tomia, Alagbado; Millennium Senior Secondary School, Egbeda and St. Andrew Primary School, Ipaja.

    In Eti-Osa LGA, the two new centres are at Victoria Island Secondary School and Ikota Primary School, while the only one in Ikorodu LGA is situated at ZI Primary School, Odogunyan.

    The two additional centres for Ifako-Ijaiye LGA are situated at Karaole/Anglican Primary School, College Road and Saint Kizito Primary School, Iju.

    For Ikeja LGA, the two new centres are situated at St. Peter Anglican Primary School, Alausa and Oke-Ira Primary School, Apata St., while the two centres for Ojo LGA are at LA Primary School Iba and Anglican Primary School, Ijanikin.

    The two additional centres for Kosofe are at Agidi Comprehensive High School, Agboyi-Keti and Ikosi High School, Ikosi-Ketu while for Somolu, the only additional centre is at Oke-Meta Primary School, Bajulaye Road.

    In Mushin LGA, three additional centres are situated at AUD Primary School, Itire, Saint Martin’s Primary School, Damengoro Street and Saint Michael Primary School, Abiodun Street.

    The two centres for Oshodi-Isolo LGA are situated at Ajumoni Grammar School, Okota and Oba Morufu Primary School, Ejigbo.

    Surulere LGA has two additional centres located at Enitan Primary School, Aguda and Akanji Primary School, Surulere.

    The INEC boss urged eligible residents to show interest in the exercise to avoid being disenfranchised in future elections.

    INEC started the nationwide CVR on April 27 to capture those who attained 18 years of age and others who did not register or those seeking replacement, transfer and others.

    The CVR exercise had been limited to INEC offices in the 20 local government areas of the state before the creation of new centres, occasioned by the population of eligible voters in those areas.

     

  • CVR: INEC to create additional centres in Lagos

    CVR: INEC to create additional centres in Lagos

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Lagos State says efforts are being made to create additional centres for Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) in 13 local government areas of the state.

    Dr. Mustapha Mudashiru, the Administrative Secretary of the Commission in Lagos State, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

    He said the commission had pushed for more centres, especially in 13 of the 20 council areas in the state to reduce crowd in existing centres.

    He added that “we requested for additional centres, particularly for some peculiar local governments in Lagos State to further address some of the challenges facing CVR  in a metropolitan city like Lagos.

    “We are still awaiting formal approval by the commission.

    “We made the case for additional centres in Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho, Eti-Osa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikeja, Ikorodu, Kosofe, Mushin, Ojo, Oshodi-Isolo, Somolu, Surulere, and Lagos Mainland local governments.

    “We are hopeful that the commission will consider this and as soon as we get
    approval, we will put those centres into use.

    “This will go a long way in reducing crowd at existing centres because it is one of the challenges we have been facing.”

    The INEC boss said the commission was committed to bringing innovation and improvement to deliver its mandate to the people.

    He commended eligible residents of the state for their eagerness and enthusiasm toward the exercise, stressing that statistics nationwide showed that Lagos was leading
    in the exercise.

    According to him, the commission’s Voter Education Department is reaching out to tertiary institutions in the state to further increase awareness about the ongoing CVR.

    Mudashiru noted that the commission had carried its publicity to University of Lagos, College of Education, Technical, Akoka and would visit other tertiary institutions in the state.

    He urged the Lagos State Government to complement the efforts of the commission in the area of publicity and enlightenment, saying it would go a long way in assisting those who may be unaware of the exercise.

    On the high volume of uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) to the tune of 1.4 million, Mudashiru said the majority of the owners of the cards had relocated, especially students who had completed their course of study.

    He urged eligible residents to show interest in the exercise to avoid being disenfranchised in future elections, saying it was free.

    INEC started the nationwide CVR on April 27 to capture those who attained 18 years of age and others who did not register or those seeking replacement or transfer.

  • Court sacks APC Senator, orders him to return salaries

    Court sacks APC Senator, orders him to return salaries

    The Supreme Court on Friday ordered Sen. Abubakar Danladi, (APC- Taraba North) to vacate his seat and refund all salaries and allowances he received within 90 days.

    The court also declared Alhaji Shuaibu Lau, as the senator to represent Taraba North.

    The court gave the orders while delivering judgment in the appeal filed by Lau.

    Lau had challenged the decision of the Court of Appeal that upturned his victory during the primary elections, that he was wrongfully substituted.

    The apex court also ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to withdraw the certificate issued to Danladi and issue a fresh certificate of return to Lau.

    The apex court in the unanimous judgment by a five-member panel, held that the appellant had the right to participate just like any other candidate in the primary election.

    The court added that if Lau felt that his right was infringed upon, he had the right to approach the court.

    “From the totality of the appeal before this court, all the issues are resolved in favour of the appellant.

    “His substitution at the primary election is null and void since the appellant scored the highest number of votes; the only option is to declare the appellant as the winner of primary election.

    ” This court hereby orders that the appellant be issued with the certificate of return and the respondent should immediately vacate the seat.

    “He should return to the National Assembly, all salaries and allowances received as a senator within 90 days.

  • Dino Melaye: INEC sets 3rd July date for commencement of recall process

    Dino Melaye: INEC sets 3rd July date for commencement of recall process

    ….Notify Senator of recall petition

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set July 3rd 2017 as the commencement date for the recall process of senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District, Mr. Dino Melaye.

    INEC has also notified Senator Melaye of a petition seeking his recall.

    The Commission in a statement issued in Abuja Thursday acknowledged the receipt of the petition submitted on Wednesday by the people from Mr. Melaye’s district.

    The statement which was signed by Mallam Mohammed Haruna, a National Commissioner and member, Information and Voter Education Committee said INEC has set  3rd July date for the commencement of the verification exercise to ascertain the authensity of the signatories.

    The date for the verification he said was arrived at during the weekly meeting Thursday where the issue was discussed.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) held its regular weekly meeting today and considered the petition submitted by some registered voters from Kogi West Senatorial District to kick start the process of recalling Senator Dino Melaye.

    “In accordance with the INEC guidelines for the recall of members of the National Assembly, the Commission has formally acknowledged the receipt of the petition to the petitioners’ representatives and has conveyed a letter notifying Senator Melaye of our receipt of the petition.

    “The next step is to verify that the petitioners are registered voters in the Kogi West Senatorial District.

    “INEC will on the 3rd of July, 2017 issue a public notice stating the day (s), time, location and other details for the verification exercise.”

    The people of Kogi West Senatorial District has made good their threat to recall Mr. Melaye on Wednesday when they submitted signatures of about 188,588 voters from electorates in Kogi West senatorial district demanding the recall of the senator.

    The signatories are about 52.3 per cent of the registered voters in the district.

    The law requires 50 per cent of voters in an area sign to recall a lawmaker.

    The signed documents, it was learnt were contained in six bags alongside other documents and were submitted to INEC’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.

    The local governments and the percentage of voters who signed the recall petition showed that Yagba West had the highest number of voters asking Melaye to return home from the Senate.

    The breakdown, as shown in the petition is Yagba West, 55.7 percent; Lokoja, 54.8 per cent; Kogi, 52.77 per cent; Yagba East, 52 per cent; Ijumu (Melaye’s local government), 51.8 per cent; Mopa/Moro, 50.4 per cent and Kabba/ Bunu, 46.7 per cent.

    A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress in Ijumu, Mr. Cornelius Olowo, who led the delegation, insisted that the constituents were not satisfied with the quality of Melaye’s representation.

  • Melaye’s Recall: INEC to verify petitioners’ signatures July 3

    Melaye’s Recall: INEC to verify petitioners’ signatures July 3

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it verify the signatures of petitioners for the recall of Sen. Dino Melaye, from the Senate on July 3.

    The commission stated this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja by Mallam Mohammed Haruna, National Commissioner and Member, Information and Voter Education Committee of the commission.

    The electorate in Kogi West Senatorial District on Wednesday submitted petition to INEC in Abuja, demanding the recall of Melaye on grounds of poor representation in the Red Chamber.

    The commission, which acknowledged receipt of the petition, said that decision to begin the process in the constituents’ demand was reached at its meeting on Thursday.

    It said that it had the receipt of the petition for the recall to Melaye through a letter.

    “The next step is to verify that the petitioners are registered voters in Kogi West Senatorial District.

    “INEC will on July 3, 2017 issue a public notice stating the day(s), time and other details for the verification exercise,’’ it stated.

    The constituents of Kogi West, led by Chief Cornelius Olowo, had shortly after submitting the petition, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the move to recall Malaye was based on his “abysmal performance’’.

    He also said that the lawmaker had been disconnected from the electorate since he was elected to represent the district in 2015.

    Olowo accused the senator of distancing himself from his constituents.

    He said that no fewer than 180,500 registered voters out of the 360,000 of them in the senatorial district had endorsed the recall of the senator.