‘Stop choosing ex-convicts, fraudsters for elections,’ Agency tells parties

monjola sotubo

April 5, 2017 4:40 PM

The comment was made by INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu on Tuesday, April 5, during a stakeholders’ conference in Abuja.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged political parties to stop nominating ex-convicts and certificate forgers for election.

The comment was made by INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu on Tuesday, April 5, during a stakeholders’ conference in Abuja.

“If a candidate that emerges from party primaries is changed, how can INEC intervene? We can only appeal to the political parties to respect their rules. The laws say that INEC has no power to reject names submitted by the headquarters of a party,” he said.

“In some cases, some of the candidates shouldn’t have been nominated. Some parties recommend ex-convicts for election, certificate forgery, only for the court to nullify that election and for INEC to conduct fresh election. The parties should do basic due diligence,” he added.

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Yakubu also called for the establishment of an election offences tribunal to make the prosecution of election offenders more effective.

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