December 02, (THEWILL) – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it is ready for electronic transmission of election results and the direct mode of party primaries as recommended in the new Electoral Amendment Act Bill.
INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, who made the position of the Commission known to journalists, said it would cost more to conduct direct primaries.
He said, “It is the constitutional and legal responsibility of the Commission to give effect to laws passed by the National Assembly. Moreover, direct primaries have been a feature of our electoral legal framework.
“The commission has monitored direct and indirect primaries organised by the different political parties. The commission does not dictate to political parties on the mode of primaries to adopt.
“The commission is obligated to monitor the primaries of political parties in the centers designated by the political parties. Some political parties may designate polling units of the Commission for the conduct of their primaries; some may designate the registration area centres (wards).
“Some may designate the local government areas, some may designate a centre within the state. Some may stagger their primaries. So, the commission is not involved in the debate around direct and indirect primaries and will implement the law as signed by the President.”
Nigeria is said to have a total of 8,908 wards, otherwise known as registration areas, and 774 local government areas.
Thus, in view of this, Okoye said, “Both direct and indirect primaries involve costs and personnel and the commission will at the appropriate time design its own matrix of actualising the intendment of the law.”
Speaking on the cost implication of a direct primary election, he said, “It is rather unfortunate that the issue of direct or indirect primaries has overshadowed other fundamental issues in the Bill.
“However, it is difficult at this stage to speculate on the cost implications of direct primaries. As at today, the Bill is inchoate until the President assents to it.”
He explained that the position of the commission, constitutionally, legally and administratively, is that the commission is the end user of the electoral legal framework.
“It is conventionally rational, strategic and fundamental to seek the opinion of the Commission and other critical agencies in the electoral matrix before a new legal framework becomes law”, he said.
