Abigail ErhiagbojePresidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the February 25 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has urged the National Assembly to amend the Electoral Act to make electronic voting and collation of election results a mandatory exercise in the country.
Atiku also advocated a review of the timeframe to also ensure that all litigations arising from a disputed election must be concluded before the inauguration of the winner.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe PDP presidential candidate made the call during a media briefing held at the party’s headquarters in Abuja on Monday.
“We can urgently make constitutional amendments that will prevent any court or tribunal from hiding behind technicalities and legal sophistry to affirm electoral heists and undermine the will of the people,” he said.
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“Our democracy must mean something; it must be substantive. Above all, it must be expressed through free, fair and transparent elections that respect the will of the people.
“Firstly, we must make electronic voting and collation of results mandatory. This is the 21st century and countries less advanced than Nigeria are doing so already. It is only bold initiatives that transform societies.
“Secondly, we must provide that all litigation arising from a disputed election must be concluded before the inauguration of a winner.”
Atiku said that the time frame allowed in the constitution for dispensation of election petitions is short.
The former Nigeria’s Vice President said that prior to the dismissal of his election petition appeal by the Supreme Court on Thursday, October 26, someone had asked him what he would do he if he lost the election petition appeal and in response he said, “as long as Nigeria wins, the struggle would have been worth the while.”
He said that what he meant by the statement is that Nigeria was more at a loss than him, should the Supreme Court legitimize “illegality including forgery, identity theft, and perjury as it has done.” According to him, if the apex court implied by its judgment that crime is good and should be rewarded, then Nigeria has not only lost, but is doomed irrespective of who occupies the presidential seat.
Furthermore, he said, “if the Supreme Court decides that the electoral umpire, INEC, can tell the public one thing and do something else in order to reach a corruptly predetermined outcome, then there is really no hope for the country’s democracy and electoral process.”
He also stressed that the consequences of INEC’s and the Supreme Court’s decision will not end at the expiration of Tinubu’s government, but would last for decades and history will eventually vindicate him.
“It is not about me, it is about our country Nigeria and our future. It is about the kind of society we want to leave for the next generation and what kind of example we want to set for our children and their children. It is about the reputation of Nigerians and Nigeria in the eyes of the world,” he said.
He claimed that if INEC had done a background check on the credentials Tinubu submitted, he would not have been found fit to contest in the elections, in the first place. He asserted that in spite of all the incontrovertible evidences his party had gathered against INEC and Tinubu, the Supreme Court’s position, even though final, leaves a lot of unanswered questions.
He also spoke about how the appointment of political leaders as well as electoral officers are no longer based on due procedures according to the law but are now based on selfish and corrupt practices. “Worse still, the appointment of electoral officers has also been hijacked by the ruling party as seen in the latest nomination of Resident Electoral Commissioners, where card-carrying members of the ruling party and its politicians in the APC are being appointed into INEC. When core critical institutions in election like the court and the electoral commission are trapped in a political…it becomes next to impossible for democracy to strive.”
Highlighting the implications of the Supreme Court’s judgement on the presidential election petition appeal, Atiku stated that the ruling has fostered distrust and loss of confidence in INEC by Nigerians, thereby hindering the process of democracy.
According to him, INEC’s action has also sent a message that contestants should everything within their power, even against the constitution, to win in an election as the court would approve such a behaviour or “at best pretend not to take notice of it”.
He said that the court has also dashed the hope of coming to seek redress from it as may even ridicule one’s counsel and go ahead to make a strong case in favour of the guilty party and in the end, such will only breed violence, anarchy and destruction.
He also called on the National Assembly to review the law to require that a candidate for an election must get 50%+1 of the valid votes cast, failing which there would be a run-off between the top two candidates. This, he said, is in order to ensure popular mandate and real representation.
Atiku also proposed six-year single term rotational presidency among the six geo-political zones in the country to prevent domination by some and exclusion of other zones. He added that such arrangement would also help to promote equity an national unity and reduce the desperation of the incumbent.
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