2015: INEC to spend N92.9b

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) may require N92.9 billion for the conduct of the 2015 elections, it was learnt yesterday.

Elections may not hold in some parts of the Northeast, if insecurity persists, according to INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, who spoke at a stakeholders’ forum organised by the Senate Committee on INEC, in collaboration with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), Abuja and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) Nigeria.

Jega, who spoke on “Preparations and challenges ahead of 2015 general elections”, said it was not true that the cost of the 2011 general elections was high.

He noted that in preparing for the 2015 elections, one guiding principle for the Commission had been to make elections more cost-effective and to give Nigerians better value for money.

He added: “Our estimate is that the cost of the election per voter, which is an international standard for viewing the cost of election, is coming down in Nigeria.

“We project that for the 2015 elections, this would come further down by almost $1- from $8.8 in 2011 to $7.9, representing almost a 10 per cent drop.

“This compares favourably with some other African countries. However, we are anxious about getting all our funding requirement being met well in advance of the 2015 general elections.”

Jega said Ghana spent $10 per voter during its last election while Kenya spent between $8.5 to $9 per voter.

Nigeria has about 73.5 million registered voters.

The INEC boss assured that “preparations by INEC for the 2015 general election are very good and proceeding in earnest”.

He added: “As far as INEC is concerned, the 2015 general elections will see Nigeria take its rightful place in the global comity of nations where electoral democracy is being consolidated.

“However, bringing this about and ensuring a free, fair, credible and peaceful elections is not a task that INEC alone can actualise.

“All stakeholders have important roles to play; we must change attitudes and mindsets, as well as strengthen partnerships and collaborative endeavours to bring this about.

“Learning from the experience of 2011, especially regarding the need for early preparations, the Commission has undertaken the task of fundamental restructuring of the Commission, established new policies to guide its work and embarked on far reaching planning of its activities through strategic plan, an election project plan and an election management system.”

On security challenges, he noted that if there was a generalised systemic insecurity in the country, it may be difficult to conduct a free and fair election in 2015.

Jega listed specifically insurgency in the Northeast, armed robbery and kidnapping as part of the systemic challenges the Commission would like the Federal Government to address and resolve before the 2015 election.

He said, “We hope the present security challenges in parts of Northeast will be overcome before the 2015 general elections. But if it persists, we may be compelled to postpone or cancel elections in the affected areas.

Jega spoke of a vacancy for a House of Representatives seat in Yobe State, but he said INEC had not conducted an election because of insecurity.

The INEC boss said the Commission, he said, is concerned about widespread absence of moderation among politicians because “even if the management of elections meets the highest standards, insofar as the contestants are unwilling to play by the rules, there will be problems.”

He said: “The Commission remains deeply concerned about growing conflicts within parties and between contestants.

“The use of language is in most cases indecorous, encouraging supporters to follow suit with even more intemperate language and ultimately fueling violence.

“Parties even find it difficult to select candidates, creating a situation in which practically every nomination process in Nigeria ends in a court case.

“In most instances, the Commission gets either directly or vicariously involved in these conflicts and court cases.

“Indeed, some of the pre-election court cases in the past threatened to derail preparations for elections.

“Of particular note is the spate of ex parte injunctions that have been issued the Commission.

“It seems to me that a primary source of the problem here is lack of internal party democracy, resulting from lack of commitment to party rules.”

On the review of the Electoral Constituencies and polling units, Jega hoped that Nigerians would support INEC’s efforts to successfully complete the exercise.

TO him, “the prospects of having remarkable much better elections in 2015 are very bright”.

“But we habour no illusion that we have accounted for all issues that could pose challenges for the elections. In fact, there are still a number of key challenges,” Jega said