FORMER secretary general of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) retired Colonel Hamid Ali spoke to SAXONE AKHAINE on the preparation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the 2011 elections, the North’s decision to vote against President Goodluck Jonathan, and the eligibility of northern candidates for the presidency in 2011. Excerpts:
HOW would you assess INEC’s preparations for 2011 elections?
As long as we don’t have an effective voters’ register in place, we have a problem there. Any election conducted with a poorly prepared voters’ register, I am sure that the credibility of that election will be in question. The option is that we either postpone the election or conduct a haphazard election. The choice is ours. But, personally, I think we should carry along the system and ensure a proper conduct of voters’ register, proper preparation that will enable us to conduct a credible election. The electoral commission has given its advice, but I have my doubt if a credible election can come up within the time frame available. If we want to do a good job, we have to do a direct data capture on voters’..
Commentaires