Pending primary litigations won’t stop 2027 elections – INEC

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has assured of transparency in the outcome of the 2027 general elections, stressing that the Commission is committed to the integrity of the contest.

To that effect, Amupitan disclosed that the Commission was working closely with the Nigeria Police Force to identify and arrest perpetrators of pre-election violence, particularly in states affected by insecurity.

He spoke during a panel session at the sixth edition of the Conference and Retreat for Senior Police Officers in Owerri, Imo state with the theme, “Developing a Nigeria Police Roadmap for Effective Management of Security During Elections.”

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Chief Press Secretary and Media Adviser to the INEC chairman, Adedayo Oketola, Amupitan identified security as one of the commission’s major concerns ahead of the 2027 elections.

“There are still some states in Nigeria that you have a lot of insecurities around, and it’s a major source of concern for us. Because that can be a source of disenfranchisement of Nigerians, and we don’t want any Nigerian to be disenfranchised,” he said.

He said the Commission was liaising with the police, as the lead agency on election security, to develop strategies for conducting elections in volatile areas.

…Election integrity

Citing the Anambra, FCT and Osun elections among the recent polls, Amupitan assured that the outcome of the general elections will not be predetermined; saying none of the five off-cycle elections conducted so far had been declared inconclusive.

He said lessons from each election had been used to improve subsequent exercises.

Amupitan said INEC remained determined to ensure that Nigerians have confidence in the electoral process.

“Just like some people were saying, ‘Oh, Osun is going to be this, Osun is going to be that, Osun is going to bring down the country.’ But we did everything possible, because what Nigerians are waiting for is just to be sure that the election is transparent,” he said.

He reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to conducting a free, fair, credible and inclusive 2027 general election.

On the conduct of political campaigns, Amupitan decried what he described as the growing culture of personality-based politics and intolerance among political actors and urged political parties and candidates to focus on issues rather than attacking opponents.

“Election should be based on issues and not campaign of calumny and denigration,” he said.

Amupitan added that INEC was working with law-enforcement agencies to ensure that those found culpable of offences under the Electoral Act were arrested, investigated and prosecuted.

…Litigations

On litigations arising from political party primaries, the INEC chairman said such disputes were matters for the courts and would not stop the conduct of the 2027 elections.

He explained that although several primary-related cases were before the courts, the Electoral Act provided for their determination through the judicial process up to the final appellate level.

According to him, elections are contested by political parties rather than individual candidates, meaning that pending litigation would not prevent a party from participating in the election.

“Whichever decision that comes out at the end of the day, INEC will abide by it,” he said.

On electoral malpractice, Amupitan said the commission was strengthening its intelligence-gathering capacity to tackle vote buying, which he said increasingly takes place outside polling units.

“These things are done and planned before the election. And most of the issues of vote buying now, you don’t even see them at the polling units. They are done outside of the polling units. So we need to activate intelligence,” he said.

He disclosed that INEC was working towards establishing a joint task force involving the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Attorney-General’s office and other security agencies, noting that the commission lacked powers of arrest or investigation.

Amupitan said INEC’s responsibility also included ensuring effective logistics and result management, adding that the commission would continue to address shortcomings identified in previous elections.

On the coordination with security agencies, he said recommendations from the Owerri retreat would be presented to the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).

He noted that ICCES comprises the Inspector-General of Police, the INEC chairman and other security and relevant agencies, including the Office of the National Security Adviser.

Speaking on INEC’s preparedness, Amupitan said recent off-cycle elections had provided useful lessons for the 2027 general elections.