No serious electoral reform yet Minimum requirements for the next INEC chairman must meet
Engr. Yunusa Yau is the convener of the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, NCSSR, and executive director of Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD. In this interview, he speaks on electoral reforms that will ensure credible elections in 2027 and what the next national chairman of the electoral commission must have, among others. Excerpts:
During one of the NCSSRs engagements with the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ in Abuja early this year, you said after the 2023 elections no serious electoral reform had taken place. What is the situation now? Any progress made?
There are a couple of proposals before the National Assembly. We are yet to see how this would be concluded and whether the president would assent to the bill that comes out of the National Assembly. What is important apart from making a clear declaration that the regulations of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has the force of law and must be respected by all, we think the next most important, is the nomination of the INEC leadership. The provision of non- partisanship must be respected. The tenure of current Chairman of INEC will expire in October and we have provided minimum requirements for the process of his replacement.