BEVERLY HILLS, August 08, (THEWILL) – With only few hours to the August 9 governorship election in Osun State, the All Progressives Congress (APC) has petitioned the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, protesting the directive by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that polling agents should maintain a distance of five metres to the polling unit during Saturday’s election.
Calling for a reversal of the directive, the party, in the petition signed Friday by the state APC state Interim Secretary, Prince Gboyega Famogu, said: “We write with reference to the pronouncement made by your Commission at the Stakeholders meeting on Wednesday the 6th of August to the effect that all polling agents are to maintain a distance of 5 metres to the polling unit during the August 9 Osun Governorship Election.
“As a political party that is taking part in the said Gubernatorial election, it is our right to petition your office that the maintenance of five-metre distance to the polling unit by the polling agents is contrary to the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) and a precipe for effective rigging of the election in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“This is in view of the pertinent roles polling agents are meant to play in the performance of their statutory functions spelt out by the Act. For the avoidance of doubt, “5 metres” is equal to 16.404 feet.”
Maintaining that the very first pertinent provision on the importance of the presence of the polling agent at the polling unit is contained in section 50 of the Act, the petition quoted the provision of the section, saying “A candidate or a polling agent may challenge the right of a person to receive a ballot paper on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are provided for in this Act.”
According to the petition, “Based on the above provision, it is clear that it is only when the polling agent or the candidate is at the polling unit that he may make such challenge on the issuance of the ballot paper to any person since he cannot be a magician that could imagine or discover same without sighting or supervising the process.
“ A supervisor cannot be separated from the scene or event to be supervised hence, the order to distance a polling agent by 5 metres cannot be in any way sound or consistent with the rules of free and fair election.
“Furthermore, by section 59 of the Act, a polling agent has the power to inform the presiding officer that he has reasonable cause to believe that the person is under the age of 18 years or that the person has committed an offence of impersonation where such a person is still within the polling unit. Based on information provided by the polling agent, the Presiding Officer has the right to order a police officer to arrest that person which shall be sufficient authority for the police officer to so act.
“To perform this task, it is mandatory that the polling agent has to be within the polling booth in order to identify “a person under the age 18 years or an impersonator”. If he is 16.4 feet away from the polling unit, how can he inform the presiding officer?
“By section 61(1) of the Act, the Presiding Officer shall regulate the admission of voters to the polling units and shall exclude all persons other than the candidates, polling agents, poll clerks and persons lawfully entitled to be admitted including accredited observers. It must be noted that the Presiding Officer is a staff of the INEC and must cohabit with the persons exempted. By implication, therefore, INEC cannot exclude the polling agent.
“ The Presiding Officer is also required to keep order and comply with the requirements of this act at the polling unit. It is, therefore, submitted that the presiding officer and by extension INEC cannot exclude the polling agent from the polling unit. If this is the case, then a polling agent cannot be 16.404 feet away from the Polling Unit and still carry on his duties under the Electoral Act. This is tantamount to excluding polling agents from the election.”
The party maintained that “With all the above duties of polling agents, one cannot but agree that polling agents are not only required to be in the polling units but must be in close contact or communication with the Presiding Officers.”
It stressed that “ Without mincing words, the Act requires the presence of the polling agent at the polling unit. Therefore, any attempt to exclude them is not only unlawful but preparatory to the much anticipated rigging by INEC in favour of the PDP.”
The party further said: “In addition, by section 63 of the Act, polling agents are required to take part in counting of votes and shall after the Presiding Officer signs the result or Form, counter-sign the said result or Form. Where the agent is not satisfied with the counting of votes, polling agent is empowered to demand for a recount.
“By the combination of sections 54(1) and 67(1) of the Act, where a voter makes any writing or mark on a ballot paper by which he may be identified such paper shall be rejected and the Presiding Officer shall endorse the word “rejected” on the ballot paper, but if an objection to the decision of the Presiding Officer to reject a ballot paper is raised by a candidate or a polling agent, the Presiding Officer shall add to the word “rejected”, the phrase “but objected to” and the Presiding Officer shall prepare a statement on the rejected ballot papers stating the number rejected, the reason for rejection and their serial number and shall on request, allow a candidate or polling agent to copy the statement so made.
“Again, by sections 67(2) and (3) of the Act, a polling agent shut out of the polling unit and kept at 5 metres (or any other distance) away from the polling unit cannot perform any of these statutory functions. Where any person purports to use the instrument of the law to so shut out the polling agents, such person is engaging in unadulterated illegality and criminality.”
The party said: “Based on the above, we therefore consider it necessary to petition your good offices with a view to calling your attention to the above provisions of the Act. As you are aware, it is not your place to amend the Act. The provision that polling agents are to maintain a 5-metre distance from the polling unit amounts to an illegal amendment of the provision of the Act.
“We, therefore, advise that you reverse the said pronouncement that required polling agents to be five metres away from the polling units and, thereby, allow all polling agents to effectively perform their statutory duties. In the likely event that your Commission is not disposed towards the reversal, we demand a written communication to that effect.”
