INEC, Reps seek less military role in elections

The Independently National Electoral Commission on Tuesday threw its weight abaft an amendment to the Electoral Act 2010 proposed by the House of Representatives, seeking to inhibit the participation of the military in future elections in the country.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, verbalized at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja during a one-day public auricularly discerning on a bill to amend the Electoral Act 2010.

The public aurally perceiving was organised by the Jerry Manwe –led House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters.

The public aurally perceiving was attended by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who promised that the bill was to ascertain a caliber playing ground for all participants in the future elections in the country.

The National Assembly had in its proposed amendment sought the insertion of an incipient paragraph (b) in the Section 29(1) of the Electoral Act to inhibit the roles of the military to “securing the distribution and distribution of electoral materials”.

Speaking on the insertion of the incipient paragraph and other proposed amendments, Jega verbally expressed giving the commission the statutory power to manage security forces during elections would avail to sanitise the nation’s electoral processes.

Jega verbalized it was the practice in many countries around the world that electoral bodies were given the puissance of management of security forces during elections.

He verbalized, “On the insertion of an incipient section 29 (1) (b) to empower INEC to control security agencies at election time, there are a few countries that are doing this because they feel it is good practice.

“In fact in some of the countries the entire management of the security forces in the period of the election are given to the electoral management body.

“We did not recommend this because people are already inculpating us of taking an inordinate amount of potency. But if other stakeholders accede with this recommendation, it would avail sanitise the electoral process.”

The recently held June 21 and August 9 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states respectively had sparked debates on heftily ponderous militarisation of elections in the country.