Poverty -made elections for fuel: Senator Obiorah urges the electoral reform in the new bill

Poverty -made elections for fuel: Senator Obiorah urges the electoral reform in the new bill

Abuja (basic reporter) former legislator, senator and legal practitioner, Ikechukwu Obiorah, presented a legal project to the national assembly in search of a constitutional amendment to remove the powers of the president and state governors to appoint the members of the Independent National Commission (INC) and independent electoral commissions (Siecs).

Obiorah, who represented the Senatorial District of the South of Anambra between 2007 and 2011, revealed it in his treatise entitled “The philosophy of the elections and the false democracy of Nigeria”, made available to journalists in Abuja during the weekend.

The former lawyer, who officially presented the draft of the copy of the bill both in the Senate and in the Chamber of Representatives on August 8, argued that the powers of appointment of a neutral body are fundamental to reach honest, transparent, free and fair elections in Nigeria. He denounced what he described as the “pervasive rigging and perversion of the elections” from independence, which, according to him, fueled poverty and underdevelopment.

“From independence, 90 percent of all elections – parliamentarian, presidential, national assembly, governor, room of the assembly and local government council – were stolen brazen, rigged, perverted or completely canceled,” said Obiorah.

He criticized the current system in which the presidents and governors appoint electoral officers, comparing him to “a person being a judge in his case”. This, he said, produced “Soviet -style electoral results” and numerous disputes on contested results.

Delinerating his proposal, Obiorah suggested that a renovated Inec should be made up of 13 commissioners: six elected by recognized Nigerian work organizations and professionals, six appointed by the United Nations and an observer of observation of Transparency International. The Commission, he added, should have the power to elect his president, take and fire and conduct all the elections between federal, state and local levels.

He underlined that the involvement of the United Nations and Transparency International would not have undermined the sovereignty of Nigeria, but rather reflect the voluntary commitment of the country to curb corruption and strengthen electoral integrity.

On electoral technology, Obiorah underlined the need to make the accreditation system of bimodal voters (biva) and the electronic transmission of the results through the display portal of the Incen results (IREV) mandatory. However, he warned that these tools alone cannot eliminate electoral negligence without a neutral and credible electoral body.

The former senator expressed the trust that his proposal could begin the lifting process of Nigeria from poverty, observing that “honest elections are the foundations of true democracy and national development”.

Obiorah’s bill is currently before the National Assembly to be considered.