A Human Rights Lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay, has told INEC to change the order of elections for the 2015 general elections.
Sagay made the call in Lagos at a lecture on Public Policy, organised by the Lagos State Chapter of the Alumni Association of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies.
In the 2015 election time-table released by INEC on Jan 24, INEC fixed the presidential and National Assembly elections on Feb. 14, 2015 and the state assembly and governorship elections on Feb. 28, 2015.
Speaking on the theme entitled: “Building Credible Electoral Process for Democratic Sustainability”, Sagay said there was need for the Presidential election to come last to avoid bandwagon effect.
Sagay argued that the presidential elections came last in 1973 and 2001 but that in 1979 when it came first, there was crisis in Nigeria.
“Holding the presidential election first can affect minds and change the trend in the psychology of voting,” Sagay said, adding that “It is dangerous to have the presidential election first.”
He decried what he described as the ongoing electoral propaganda in Nigeria, insisting that a cursory analysis showed continued anomalies in the process.
Sagay insisted that Nigeria must struggle to ensure that it achieved political equality.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said that the 2015 elections would be much more remarkable than that of the 2011 elections.
He, however, acknowledged INEC’s past mistakes, adding that the commission was determined to lift the bar on election credibility.
“INEC is mindful of the fact that a badly conducted election may lead to destabilisation of the nation. The bar for credibility will be raised in 2015,” he assured.
Jega, however, urged political parties interested in participating in the 2015 elections to provide credible agents.
`”Agents that are not credible may affect the final results of their parties from the polling centers.”
The chairman of the Lagos Chapter of the ANNI, Victor Banjo, said that the group decided to start a public policy lecture series to address serious national issues.
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