ELECTORAL ACT 2022 IS A PRODUCT OF MULTI-STAKEHOLDER INTERVENTION – INEC
Oru Leonard
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has said that the Electoral Act 2022 is a progressive piece of legislation which is a product of multi-stakeholder intervention in the electoral reform process, hence, embodies and encapsulates previous amendments made to the repealed Electoral Act, 2010
Prof. Yakubu, who was represented by the National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education, Barrister Festus Okoye, stated this on Friday during a one-day forum in Abuja, with the theme: “Elections Coverage In Nigeria: A look at Grey Areas in the New Electoral Act”, organised by the INEC Press Corps, in collaboration with INEC’s Department of Voter Education and Publicity, to educate and enlighten journalists on the new Electoral Act.
INEC said it will through its policies and guidelines continue to improve on the procedures and processes set out by the Act and that institutionalisation of the use of technology will remove human errors.
“There are new issues, new provisions and grey areas in the Electoral Act, 2022. It will therefore be unsafe to assume that the coverage of all elections is the same and that changes in the law or the constitutive legal instruments will not substantially or materially affect the conduct and outcome of an election.
“Elections and election laws are in a class of their own and it is the responsibility of the journalist to find the law, be abreast of its provisions and apply it to election coverage. To do this effectively, there must be an element of specialisation and the journalist must have some expertise, contacts and grounding in electoral matters”. Okoye stated.
He urged journalist to avoid sensationalism and must on no account rely on rumours and unverified information as doing so can trigger a breakdown of law and order.
“It is also imperative for the media and the critical stakeholders to impress on politicians to accept democracy as the best way to produce good and competent candidates. Internal democracy in political parties must not only be entrenched in their constitutions and guidelines, but must be demonstrated practically in their primaries, conventions and congresses and all other party activities.
“Failure to observe democratic virtues in party politics often impugn on the Commission’s efforts to deliver a universally accepted election”, he said
The Director, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Mr. Chidi Nwafor, in his presentation on the topic ‘Technological Innovation in Election as an Antidote to Election Fraud’, noted that applying technology during elections will help to reduce human interference, produce credible processes, produce results from a process in a timely manner and improve the accuracy of the process.
“The aim of INEC is to totally eliminate electoral acts of fraud by the use of technology”, he said.
Presentations was also made by the Director, Legal Drafting and Clearance, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola, goodwill messages from, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, Jake Epelle of Albino Foundation and others.
