The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it was not yet sure of the mode of electoral reforms it would embark upon ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The commission has continued to receive knocks from local and international observers over lapses which characterised the conduct of the 2019 general election across the country.
In its final report on the conduct of the polls, which it submitted recently, the European Union (EU) revealed that the 2019 election was marred by systemic failure, violence and intimidation of voters.
The report also stated that the low level of voters’ participation called for fundamental electoral reforms, and gave 30 recommendations on how to improve future electoral processes.
Several candidates from opposition parties said the general election was flawed across the country and disputed the results released by INEC.
The main opposition, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Atiku Abubakar, have equally disputed the result of February presidential election, won by incumbent Muhammadu Buhari, and are seeking an upturn of the result at the tribunal.
However, speaking in an interview with BusinessDay, Wednesday, Festus Okoye, INEC National Commissioner and chairman of the commission’s committee on information and voter education, said the commission did not know the mode of electoral reforms to carry out, but would rather wait till it completed its ongoing review of the election and interaction with stakeholders.
He however, admitted that the commission was aware of the need for a holistic reform before the 2023 election and regain the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral process.
“We have not decided what type of reforms we would have before the 2023 election, but we have started a review of the 2019 election. Most of our national officers are in states speaking with our state officers on the way the election was conducted,” Okoye said.
“So, through this we can harvest recommendations on areas to improve on. But no one would just tell us what to do,” he said.
“We would hold meeting with the media, stakeholders, from there we can base the type of reforms that would aid the smooth conduct of the 2023 election,” Okoye said.
On the clamour for delisting of non-performing political parties, Okoye, noted that such parties may not be de- registered, stressing that the commission was working on a template for political parties.
“There are positions we are considering either to set a template to meet before they get into the ballot paper or alter the number of political parties. But we are not sure yet if any party would be delisted yet or not,” Okoye added.
Iniobong Iwok
