Ahead of the 2027 general elections, a leader in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has canvassed a further reform of the Electoral Act that would address leadership recruitment for the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). This, he believed, would and make nation’s electoral umpire truly “independent” of “external control and influence”.
INEC was established by the 1999 Constitution to organise elections into various political offices in the country, among other responsibilities. It also has its power derived from the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended)
In a chat with newsmen in Abuja on Monday, Olawepo-Hashim recommended that the position of INEC Chairman and National Commissioners should be advertised and not appointed by the President.
He also stressed the fact that the Electoral Act should put the onus of proof of the conduct of credible election on INEC and not on the petitioner.
The politician recalled that, during the military regimes, he and other activists fought for a truly independent electoral body, with the positions advertised, while the National Judicial Service Commission should be the collation agency, independent of the executive arm of government.
According to him, “in 1999, we won the election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). But who were those that asked for an independent electoral commission? We were the ones. We were not behaving like people who were sure they were going to get power, because we were believers in democracy.
“So, Nigerians need believers in democracy across the parties to survive, not APC and PDP. This is beyond APC, PDP. If we don’t sort out the electoral system right now, and not six months to election, or one year, the 2027 election is going to be war. Nobody will be going to court. So, we don’t want that now.
“Nigeria needs statesmen, not politicians. We don’t need politicians in the drivers’ seats of the reform of our state institutions. We need statesmen to speak up”.
Olawepo-Hashim further said that the “issue of electoral reform is not the business for the opposition alone. It is the business for everyone who loves Nigeria because if we don’t reform the process, and election can’t be delivered credibly, 2027 will be war.
“We have to rescue the democratic process because it is becoming meaningless. Why are we having coup d’etat all over Africa? Because people did not see any content in what we call democracy.
“I know that people have their expectations in the judiciary but judges adjudicate based on law and evidence and the truth of the matter is that the Electoral Act has skewed the balance in favour of the winner of the election and the man who organized the election”.
