By Armsfree Ajanaku
• Urges Judiciary To Be Wary of Actors Bent On Legitimizing Illegality
RelatedPosts
As the high octane political drama continues over the Adamawa State supplementary governorship poll, reactions have continued to pour in from various stakeholders. On its part, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has yet again expressed its concern over the recent turn of events. The elite democracy think tank, which had earlier condemned the decision of the Resident Electoral Commissioner to announce the results, while collation was ongoing, has also called on the judiciary not to allow desperate actors undermine the country’s electoral laws. In a statement signed by its Director, Idayat Hassan, expressed dismay over the illegal action of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Ari over the illegal announcement.
She said: “It is pertinent to restate that the declaration was completely at variance with the provision of Section 25 (2f) of the Electoral Act, 2022 which empowers only the returning officer to make such declaration as well as Sections 65 and 66 of the Act which further reaffirmed the procedure of returning election results. CDD has observed that some political actors are now dragging the Judiciary into the issue by making demands that run parallel to democratic norms and laid down laws and guidelines for the conduct of elections.
“It is strange for the Judiciary to be called in midway into the electoral process to interpret any action. Since it is abundantly clear that the now suspended Adamawa REC acted only as an imposter in announcing the so-called winner, no one ought to be told that the action was a nullity. The Judiciary should not be dragged into what is clearly an illegal affair ab initio. CDD calls on the leadership of Judiciary to stand by its earlier warning to judges and other judicial officers that they should avoid unwholesome interference in the political process.” CDD therefore called on all contestants in the process to allow the electoral umpire to move on with the process of declaration of results as spelt out in the law. “INEC should be allowed to follow its laid down legal means of collation and announcement of result before any aggrieved party approaches the right court for any needed redress.
“We once again call on political actors, electoral officials and security agents to operate within the ambit of the law and avoid any situation that can lead to chaos or threaten peace. We call on the people of Adamawa State to remain calm as INEC brings closure to this process in line with the extant laws governing the conduct of elections.”
