Yesterday at Chatham House, INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu revealed this.

The INEC chairman noted that 50 commission sites had been targeted in four years, meaning the commission would need to rebuild and replace materials.

He said INEC and security agencies had strengthened security in attack-prone areas.

The election umpire currently has 791 legal cases, up from 600 in November.

The INEC, a "nominal party" to the proceedings, stated that it would only obey "clear" court decisions in the face of conflicting instructions from courts with coordinated jurisdiction.

Despite the setback, the commission is satisfied with its preparations and is resolved to give Nigerians a free, fair, credible, and inclusive election.

“Nigeria's 2023 Elections: Preparations and Priorities for Electoral Integrity and Inclusion” was Chatham House's subject.

We'll deliver despite obstacles.

Yakubu said, “We have promised Nigerians and friends of Nigeria that the 2023 general election will be free, fair, credible, and inclusive, and we have left no stone unturned in preparing for it, despite various hurdles.

“But all elections, especially those with wide national deployment like we do in Nigeria, will have issues.” We have prepared for these difficulties with stakeholders and development partners.

“We take our pledge to Nigerians seriously.” Our preparations are exhaustive. We serve Nigerians, not political parties or candidates. The law demands that. We value the Commission's institutional integrity.

“With the enthusiasm of Nigerians, the goodwill of stakeholders and partners, and the dedication of the Commission, we think that the 2023 general election would be among the best in Nigeria.”

791 lawsuits

The Judiciary interprets the law and resolves electoral disputes, while the Commission conducts free, fair, and credible elections.

Few Nigerian public entities fulfil their duties.

litigation than INEC. The Commission handled 1,689 cases in the 2019 general election: 852 pre-election, 807 post-election, and 30 electoral violations. The Commission supports the rule of law, which democracy requires.

As of Friday, January 6, 2023, the Commission was involved in 791 court proceedings concerning intra-party elections and political party candidate nominations. These are intra-party disputes between candidates and their political parties, primarily due to the lack of party democracy. Despite being a nominal party, the Commission must be represented in court by lawyers.

“The Commission will continue to obey explicit instructions of Courts because of the plethora of competing judgements from Courts with coordinating jurisdiction on the same subject matter, particularly those involving political party leadership or the nomination of candidates for elections,” said Yakubu.

Uncertainty

He said election managers worry about Africa's persistent insecurity.

He noted that Boko Haram continues to insurge in the Northeast, while banditry, terrorism, and herder-farmer disputes plague the North West and North Central.

“In the South-South, organisations demanding more petroleum money for the Niger Delta threaten renewed conflict.” Although a group desiring independence for the South West has much diminished, recent violent attacks on houses of worship, a rise in violent cults and abduction gangs, and a history of violence with groups seeking to dominate markets and vehicle parks remain strong.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatist movement in the South-East poses a huge security danger. The long-standing weekly lockdown of the five states in that geopolitical zone disrupts social and economic operations, and armed groups have increased violent attacks.

Violence and the possibility of violence are key obstacles to credible elections in 2023. Election deployment is challenging when violence targets the electoral process and participants.

“However, the Commission has been working with security agencies and other stakeholders to build procedures to analyse, track, and reduce security challenges. ICCES and EVMAT, a research and diagnostic tool for anticipating and preventing election violence, are working together. ERM tracks and reports general election risks.

Our actions and security agency cooperation have reassured us. 2023's general election will happen. He said, "No election postponement."

The INEC chief stated that the over two million internally displaced people could vote as long as they were in IDP camps and not in private residences where they could not be tracked.

The Senate tells INEC all conditions are satisfied; credible polls have no excuse.

While the INEC chairman spoke at Chatham House, the Senate said the commission had all it needed to conduct a free, fair, and credible election.

As senators returned from Christmas and New Year break, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said INEC had no excuse since the executive and legislature had supplied funding and tools for orderly elections.

Lawan added, “INEC has acquired everything it has asked for, from the legislature to help the conduct of a credible election and as such, excuses will not be condoned.”

(Source: www.vanguardngr.com)