THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday said elections would continue to be inconclusive in the country because of the need to account for every polling units.
The commission also said it had evolved a “Road map” that would ensure a smooth conduct of impending governorship election in Edo State.
Besides, following last Friday’s razing of the office of the INEC in Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State, the commission also postponed the conduct of national and state legislative re-run elections in the state.
This is even as Rivers State government called for dissolution of INEC under the leadership of Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
But INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who spoke at a dialogue session between the electoral body and over 60 civil society groups involved in election monitoring, insisted that politicians should be blamed for the recurring cases of inconclusive elections in the country.
According to Prof. Yakubu, who was represented at the event by INEC National Commissioner, Mrs. Amina Zakari, “the concept of inconclusive election is that every polling unit must be accounted for.”
He said elections in Nigeria had become “too tight and keenly contested,” such that the commission could no longer declare anybody winner when result from even a single polling unit was cancelled.
“It is most regrettable that aside sponsoring violence, ballot-snatching, mutilation of election results and other vices, politician are also trying to take over election in the field.
“The politician and their agents will not allow us to collate appropriately. They are very calculating when they want to force a result on you.
“Sometimes, miscreants try to force our ad-hoc staff to add votes for their candidate, which usually occasion over-voting and eventual cancellation of result from such polling unit. This is one of the factors that lead to inconclusive elections. It is a general societal issue that we need to discuss openly.”
