TheCable

Amina Bala Zakari, the national commissioner and chairman board of electoral institute of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says the frequent declaration of elections as inconclusive is an attempt by the commission to be fair to all.

A statement released by Nick Dazang, INEC’s deputy director of information, quoted Zakari as saying this at an event with the theme: ‘Trends of Inconclusive Elections and the Challenge of Strengthening the Electoral Process, held by the Electoral Institute in Abuja on Wednesday.

The event was supported by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Foundation.

“Faced with circumstances and armed with the legal provisions, INEC, in an attempt to be fair to all, and to move away from the established syndrome of ‘announce the result at any cost and leave it to the courts’, usually invokes the relevant sections to declare elections inconclusive, pending determination of the winner through supplementary elections,” she said.

“It is no longer business as usual for politicians who embark on the direct intimidation of voters and INEC staff not to use the smart card reader to force over voting perpetrate violence through the use of weapons including guns to scare away voters in an attempt to influence outcome of elections.”

Zakari said to make the country’s electoral process better, the commission was increasing awareness and application of electoral laws and INEC guidelines.

Aishatu Jibrin Dukku, chairman, house of representatives committee on electoral and political party affairs, said the solution to inconclusive elections would be achieved when all stakeholders come together.

The event was also attended by members of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), representatives of various security agencies, political parties and development partners.