By: Collins Nnabuife – Abuja
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has called for the immediate prosecution of all electoral offenders and their sponsors whom it said will serve as a deterrent to those who desire to subvert the will of the people.
This is just as IPAC urged INEC to review the procedure for appointing Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) to ensure only competent and patriotic Nigerians head the Commission’s State Offices across the nation.
This is contained in a Communique issued at the Council’s general assembly and signed by the IPAC National Chairman, Engr Yabagi Sani.
IPAC said it will resist any attempt to subvert the people’s mandate freely given to any Political Party and its candidate and urged stakeholders in the electoral process to respect the wish of the people as sovereignty resides in them.
The Council charged INEC to sit up and take its Constitutional duty seriously to avoid the preventable glitches and hitches with its Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) that questioned its readiness to conduct the elections and authenticity of results declared particularly in Presidential and National Assemble elections.
“Council demands a review of the process in appointing INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners to ensure only competent and patriotic Nigerians head the Commission’s State Offices across the nation as some of the challenges encountered during the elections particularly the use of BVAS and IReV Portals were caused more by human factor than the equipment.
“More importantly, the Commission must be transparent and upholds its neutrality and integrity as the electoral umpire and discharge its duties without fear or favour as it will be held responsible and accountable for the success and otherwise of the elections it conducted.
“IPAC urges the Judiciary to be decisive and uphold the rule of law in adjudicating on various election petitions before it as the last hope of all aggrieved citizens, aware that time is of the essence and justice delayed is justice denied. All stolen mandates must be retrieved to uphold the sanctity of the ballot box”, the Communique said.
The Council also condemned the violence, killings, arson, kidnapping of electoral officers, intimidation and suppression of voters that characterized the 2023 General Election.
“They are outrageous, despicable and unacceptable in the quest for sustainable democracy in Nigeria and must stop forthwith. Vote buying, snatching of ballot papers and boxes remain the bane of the nation’s electoral process.
“Accordingly, Council demands the immediate prosecution of electoral offenders and their sponsors to serve as a deterrent to those who desire to subvert the will of the people.
“It is the only way to sanitize the country’s electoral processes and procedures and ensure that the people’s votes count. It will also spur citizens’ participation in future elections unlike the unprecedented voter apathy witnessed in the 2023 General Election”, IPAC said.
IPAC however, urged INEC to start preparations for the off-season gubernatorial elections, put its act together and ensure future elections in the country meet international standards. “The integrity of the Commission is at stake each time it conducts flawed elections. The expectations of Nigerians are high and must be met in our collective resolve to build a strong, virile, united, progressive and just democratic nation”, the Communique added.
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