Posted by: Yusuf Alli in News
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) registered the All Progressives Congress (APC) based on four factors, The Nation learnt yesterday.
The four factors are: •substantial compliance with Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 78 of the Electoral Act by merger parties; •absence of any injunction restraining INEC from registering the party; •the commission’s stand to be courageous and take a definite position; and •the need to open up the electoral space for a free and fair contest.
According to sources, despite the fact that a department tried to delay the registration of the APC on technical ground of a subsisting court process, INEC decided to be courageous.
It was gathered that INEC discovered that if it had not acted within the law, APC would have been automatically registered within 30 days of the submission of its application.
A National Commissioner, who spoke in confidence, said: “We subjected the application for merger of the parties to Section 222 of the 1999 Constitution and Section 78 of the Electoral Act.
“The field report confirmed that the ACN, the ANPP and the CPC met all the requirements to merge. So, we have no cause to deny them this right. There were no fault lines; they kept to the guidelines. Denying them registration could overheat the system as if INEC is being stereotyped by some forces.”
Responding to a question, the commissioner said APC’s registration was not subjudice to the ongoing court action by a group laying claim to the acronym.
The source said: “One, there is no injunction restraining INEC from registering All Progressives Congress. Although some officers cited ongoing court action by All Peoples Congress, we got legal advice that we should stick to the provision of the Electoral Act.
“Section 78 of the Electoral Act says: ‘A political association that meets the conditions stipulated in the Constitution and this Act shall be registered by the Commission as a political party within 30 days from the date of receipt of the application, and if after the 30 days such association is not registered by the Commission unless the Commission informs the association to the contrary it shall be deemed to have been registered.
“What it means is that since we have no objection to the merger of the three parties to form APC, they will stand registered automatically after 30 days whether we make a pronouncement or not.
“Instead of allowing APC to emerge by default, we decided to be courageous in registering the merger party. INEC does not want to be seen as cowardly at all.
“The court hearing the application of the pseudo group had adjourned till September or October and there is no way INEC can wait till then to determine the fate of the All Progressives Congress. If we had waited, we will be violating the Electoral Act and there will be no legal basis for registering the new merger party again.”
The commissioner also added: “The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, and his team opted to widen the electoral space to promote a free and fair process or contest.
“I think with this decision, Nigerians can have more choice. It is part of the mandate of INEC to make the electoral process transparent.”
SOURCE: 1 August 2013
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