Forum of presidential candidates opposes Electoral Bill

The forum’s chairman, Alhaji Shittu Kabir, said this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja. Kabir, who is the presidential candidate of the Advanced Peoples Democratic Alliance, described the bill as part of “deliberate hurdles” capable of derailing the 2019 general elections. He said the bill which stipulated electronic verification of voters and transmission of results would deliberately disenfranchise voters especially in rural areas due to problems of power supply and internet connectivity. “We don’t see INEC responding fast enough in cases where their devices malfunction. “The constraints and impediments of time and resources in difficult terrains will deliberately deny many local communities the opportunity to vote,” he said. Kabir said the time was too close to the election to enable INEC train its workers, especially its ad hoc staff, on how to handle the electronic devices. “We shouldn’t give INEC any excuse to postpone the elections,” he cautioned. The APDA presidential candidate said those pushing for assent to the new bill may unwittingly derail the electoral calendar if the electoral umpire was forced to adjust its programme to accommodate the personnel, budget and other logistics in the guise of abiding with the provisions of the new law. He also picked holes in the provisions of Sections 84-87 which he said were capable of weakening the powers of political party executives on party primaries and choice of candidates. “My concern is how to avoid unnecessary litigations and protect the sanctity of the electoral process,” he said. Chairmen of about 70 registered political parties had on Friday threatened to pull out of the 2019 general elections if Buhari failed to sign the Electoral Bill. The chairmen of the political parties that took the decision to pull out of the elections did so on the platform of the Inter Party Advisory Council. The council’s National Publicity Secretary, Ikenga Ugochinyere, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja after the council’s meeting. He however did not list the party chairmen that were part of that decision. According to the statement, the council was of the opinion that the bill, if signed into law, would ensure free, fair and credible elections. The statement read, “IPAC resolved that in view of the fact that Nigerians want free, fair and credible elections in 2019 which the new Electoral Bill before the President Buhari promises, we as major stakeholders in the electoral process, call on the President to sign the bill into law. “Should he refuse, then we will not be part of the electoral process in 2019 that doesn’t promise credibility and fairness. “The delay/refusal to sign the bill will throw the country into the worst bloody electoral conquest and put INEC in a tight situation that will make free and credible election impossible in 2019.”]]>