INEC Has No Authority To Extend Time For Registration - Mark
ABUJA, Jan 25, (THEWILL) - President of the Senate today declared that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has no authority to extend the time for registration of voters.
In the same vein, the Senate faulted INEC stance of primary rerun election saying it lacks the powers to stop any political party from conducting its primaries within the time frame provided for in the Electoral Act.
The senators also received two bills from President Goodluck Jonathan. They are; bill for an Act to Amend the Court of appeal Act 2005 to increase the number of Justices of the Court of Appeal from 70 to 90 and for related matters and Bill for an Act to Amend the National Minimum Wage Act CAP N61 LFN, 2004. To provide for the new national minimum wage and for purposes connected therewith.
Addressing senators on resumption of plenary, Senator Mark said; "I have heard INEC talk of extending the time, I am sure they are not aware that they do not have the authority to do that. The registration cannot go on beyond 2nd February, 2011, he added.
However, he directed the Senate Committee on INEC through its oversight function to ensure that all eligible voters are registered adding that it has become more worrisome in view of Section 9(5) of the 2010 Electoral Act (as amended) which clearly states that voters registration must stop 60 days before the election.
"These means that the registration cannot go on beyond 2nd February, 2011 technically.
"We have heard of stolen or missing DDC machines. This is totally unacceptable and the law enforcement agents must ensure that those involved in these unpatriotic acts are brought to book and dealt with according to law to serve as deterrent to others.
"The teething problems now appear to be permanent and they are not going away. As we speak today, there are so many local government areas without DDC machines and nobody knows when the machines will get to those destinations. Unless there is drastic improvement, very many eligible voters may not get registered," he said.
Briefing, National Assembly correspondents later, Senate Spokesman, Senator Ayogu Eze, said INEC has no right to decide for the political parties when to conclude their primary elections as it is exclusively the internal party affairs.
What is sacrosanct is only the dates of February 2, which is the terminal date for submission of list of party candidates. The date he added is recognized in the Electoral Act and sanctioned by the constitution.
INEC, Eze stated would be overreaching itself if they say that the rerun of primaries are illegal based on the fact that it contravened its guidelines, which stated that January 15 is the terminal date for all party primaries. That in itself is not in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act he added.
"Nowhere is it stated that the parties are not at liberty to conduct its primaries," he added.
In the same vein, Senator Eze condemned the closure of schools for the exercise saying it was not necessary in the first place, because investigations have shown that INEC is not making use of the school premises for the exercise.