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From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
Former chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Attahiru Jega, has called for the prohibition of cross-carpeting by elected officials.
At a town hall meeting on Electoral Reforms, organised by the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee, on Electoral Matters, yesterday, in Abuja, he said the incessant cross-carpeting was destroying the ethos of democracy.
He said situation where elected public officials defect from the political parties on whose platform they were elected to other parties without first resigning their position was not in the interest of democracy.
The former INEC boss also called for the unbundling of the electoral body to make it more efficient.
According to him, some of the functions being performed by INEC should be ceded to another body. “I will recommend the unbundling of INEC because the commission has a lot on its plate to deal with, a situation which has made it struggle to meet its core mandate. Some functions which INEC is currently performing should be given to another body entirely to handle if we want to make progress on our electoral journey. If we truly want to improve our electoral process, there is a need to proscribe cross-carpeting by political actors. The frequency with which Nigerian politicians cross-carpet has become a big source of worry.
“A candidate will be elected on Party A platform and he gets to the office and joins Party B without first resigning and relinquishing the position he or she holds in trust for the electorate. This has destroyed the essence of our democratic ethos. It is my humble recommendation that there should be a review of how political parties field presidential candidates. Look at the number of registered political parties in Nigeria and each fielding presidential candidates but at the end of the day, only two or three score significant votes while the majority do not receive any vote.
“If we are serious about our electoral reforms, there must be a threshold for political parties to meet before fielding candidates in presidential elections. The rule must be set that parties that failed to secure a certain amount of votes would not be allowed to present presidential candidates. There must be sanity in the polity and we must get it right.
“It is not only a huge waste of human and material resources, it’s absurd to have parties that cannot win a seat in council to field presidential candidates in a general election. The Electoral Act and INEC guidelines should be reviewed.”
Also, speaking at the event, founder of The Albino Foundation, Jake Ekpele, said the Electoral Act should be amended to create avenue for persons living with disabilities to participate fully in the electoral process.
