[b]Only parties with candidates will be on ballot

PARTIES without presidential candidates will not be on the ballot in the April elections Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega said yesterday.

The ballot paper for the presidential poll has always been all-comer affair, but it will now contain only the parties with candidates.

Besides, warned the INEC boss, parties planning an alliance to present a common presidential candidate should re-examine the Electoral Act.

Jega, who spoke with a select group of journalists in his Abuja office, said there was no cause for alarm over the ongoing voters registration.

He said although one of the suppliers of the Direct Data Capture machines, Avante, disappointed the commission by bringing in the items late, hope is not lost.

There have been calls for INEC to extend the exercise, but, in Jega’s view, it is too early to talk of an extension. If circumstances demand, INEC will only limit the extension to a few areas, he said.

On the ballot papers, he said: "We want to put only the parties with presidential candidates on the ballot paper. Organisationally, the law does not stop us from doing that. The important thing is to ensure that whoever is fielded legally in accordance with the Electoral Laws are on the ballot.

"So, if a party does not have a candidate on the ballot, it does not make sense to put them on the ballot. So, whoever is legally entitled to be on the ballot, we will make sure they are on the ballot and we will make all the adequate arrangement for that."

On plans by some political parties to team up for the presidential election, Jega said:

"Well, the law is there. I hope they are reading the Electoral Act. There are timelines about doing things. And you have to do things within the timeframe.

"There are timeframes within which you submit list of nominations; there is timeframe within which you can withdraw; there are timeframes within which you can substitute under certain circumstances, not frivolous. You cannot send name today and say you are taking it and bring another name.

"But, for example, if there is an unfortunate thing about death within a particular timeframe, the law allows for substitution."

Pressed to comment on INEC’s reaction to a situation in which about three or four parties adopt a common presidential candidate, Jega said: "What I want to tell you is that I will assure you and assure all Nigerians that we are going to do everything in accordance with what the law provides.

"If people comply with the law, they will have no problem with us. Anybody who does not comply with the law in whatever they do, they will have to answer for the consequences as prescribed by the law."

Jega insisted that the voters registration is on course.

He said: "I think it is a wrong assumption to use the challenges that we have faced in the first few days of a 15-day exercise to conclude that the exercise or the assignment is failing. Obviously, when we commenced the registration on January 15, serious issues were raised about the delay in finger printing and that affected the number of people who were registered on the first and on the second day. But by the second day, we had already discovered what the problem was and we had developed a solution to the problem and we have started deploying the solution.

"It took up to third and the part of the fourth day to be able to reach the significant number of the DDC machines that had been deployed. What happened was that the factory set the fingerprint quality very, very high and that was why it was rejecting. It became very, very sensitive and if there is any slight problem with a fingerprint, whether it is dusty or oily, it was just rejecting the fingerprint.

"Obviously, there is a threshold. What we did, having realised that, was to adjust the threshold and, once that was done, you can see how things have changed remarkably.

"By yesterday (Wednesday), we had reached about 80 per cent of the machines that have already been deployed in the field and they were reconfigured. And so, there was no problem in at least 80 per cent of the units by yesterday, which was the fifth day.

"As I speak with you now, we have deployed up to 117,000 DDC machines. Of course, there are about 120,000 polling units, which means that there are about 3,000 polling units which we have not yet, reached with the DDC machines. These units cut across. It is unfortunate that this has happened. But the reason is that we have been disappointed by one of the contractors.

"I know that in many areas, because of ‘once beaten, twice shy’, people know the experience of the past, there is a lot of anxiety and agitation that may be no machines will be deployed. I understand that, but I want to reassure people that we will get to everybody’s unit, and they should just be patient. And whoever is registrable in any polling unit will be registered.

"We have a strategy in place that, God willing, within the 15-day period, we will capture as many registrable Nigerians as possible. Hopefully, all, in spite of the challenges that we have already faced. And if it becomes necessary, then we will consider the issue of extension.



On why he went to Bayelsa to register the President, Jega said it was a mere official flag-off of the registration.

He faulted the criticism of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) for raising the alarm over the matter.

"I have read those reports, I was amused by the irrationality of the argument that was raised. I went to Bayelsa to perform an official function. And the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria went to Bayelsa to register as a citizen and also to do official function of flagging off the registration of voters. Even immunisation programmes, I keep saying, are flagged off in this country by public officials, whether it is President, governor or chairman of a local government, what more of a registration exercise that we all say is fundamental to the progress and development of this country? What is wrong with flagging it off. And if it is to be flagged off nationally, who is to flag it? It is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it cannot be done in Abuja because registration takes place where somebody is expected to vote. So, if Mr. President is going to vote in a polling unit in his village, how can we do a flag-off with him in Abuja?

"He (the President) may be a candidate but everybody knows that he is still the President of Nigeria and he has to do his job as President. That is what took me to Bayelsa and I preceded him. The function came and it did not take more than 30 minutes and there were even no speeches. He did it and when he finished, he went on his own and I went on my own. What is the problem with that? I did not go in the same aircraft with him. I was not hosted by anybody. I don’t know why they are trying to see smoke where there is no fire."

Jega said INEC officials involved in electoral fraud in Ekiti, Osun and Delta states will face trial.

The INEC chief said: "Well, to be honest, we have started a cleaning exercise and we have not done it substantially because there is due process and we have to follow due process. Secondly, we have to ensure that whatever we do is not disruptive. That is it does not disrupt the key assignment we are working on, which is the voters registration and the elections.[/b]

What kind of affront on our collective freedom!

So if ACN agrees to jointly field Buhari on CPC platform and in that case fields no candidate for presidency, it means ACN will not be on the Ballot though they have Governorship candidates? But if it only means their logo/name will be omitted from JUST the presidential ballot papers, its okay by me.

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lol @Jega. What a tool. F him.

Will be interesting to see how this all goes down.

Are you folks really this dim? If a party has no candidate, then the party is not included on the corresponding ballot papers. Is that so hard to understand? Surely being on this forum, you can already read and write.

I wonder 4 many nlanders. The electoral act is there, it was signed b4 any move for alliance, in alliance do it within the time frame, that's the english oyibo grammatical.

I wonder 4 many nlanders. The electoral act is there, it was signed b4 any move for alliance, in alliance do it within the time frame, that's the english oyibo grammatical.