Recently the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC ) held stakeholders’ meeting with chairmen and secretaries of registered political parties after which the chairman of BYSIEC, Chief Bertola Perekeme, said the appointment of caretaker committee chairmen was not only an aberration, but that local government elections were delayed due to lack of funds. He also told Correspondent Amos Okioma that very soon election timetable would be released.
Excerpts:
Bayelsans want to know specifically when the local government elections will hold in the state.
It is true that we were unable to conduct local government elections before my appointment. Things have to start from somewhere and that is why the commission organized the stakeholders’ meeting with leaders of political parties in the state. It is not clear when exactly, but we will make sure that elections hold within the next one month and before the commission will convene another meeting. This time it will not just be with leaders of political parties, it will go beyond that where we will invite the security agents and from there we will release the time table to Bayelsans. It is not about specific date for now, but we are going to release timetable with adequate time to prepare things.
What efforts are you making to ensure a credible election?
You are aware elections can’t be conducted without ballot papers. These are what we call sensitive materials. Hence, you cannot print sensitive materials ahead of council elections.
Why?
We don’t know how many political parties that would participate. Sensitive materials include ballot papers and result sheets which contain the name of the political parties. They have to be submitted and have the names of the candidates cleared for the elections. So the commission can’t just go and print ballot boxes without knowing the 68 political parties and that will be waste of resources. We need to ascertain the numbers of political parties that are registered and will be fielding candidates. Several meetings are in the offing. It is going to be step by step approach. We need to give notice of election, notice of when campaign would take place and notice of primaries and so forth. And it is only when we are certain of the number of political parties and candidates that we can think of going to print sensitive materials.
So the preparations have started with this meeting and subsequent ones. The media have started the process beginning from now we will continue to prepare and announce from time to time.
What were the charges you gave to political parties, especially on the conduct of free, fair and credible local government elections?
If the political parties must contest the local government elections they have to start the process of electioneering in as much as the commission is going to provide a level playing ground to all political parties. They should try to work harder because this is democracy and the dividends of democracy must not be limited to one individual. In my address I mentioned that Bayelsans are free to enjoy these dividends. And if anybody fails to work for his victory in the local government elections I should not be held responsible for the failures. Most of these political parties that were present that expressed fears of free, fair and credible elections do not have any presence in their wards and do not have offices anywhere. During elections it is not my duty to canvass for votes for any party . We only announced results that were brought by the electoral officials from various wards. And so I repeat; my charge to political parties is for them to educate their members against thuggery, election malpractice and ensure that there is free, fair and credible elections. I also told them that as a body saddled with the responsibility of conducting credible, free and fair elections, this meeting provides a platform for sensitization and exchange of ideas on the best approach towards achieving a free, fair and credible local government election in the state.
Besides, the meeting was also necessitated by the desire of the commission to avert any form of violence associated with local government elections as recorded in the recent past in some states in Nigeria. And from the array of responsible and seasoned politicians present most of whom have been involved in various processes of election management, I am convinced that the outcome of the meeting will in no doubt enhance our desire to conduct a credible election that will further enhance our democracy which is already threatened by electoral violence as recorded in some parts of the country. As stakeholders with constitutional responsibility of producing credible candidates from their various parties through internal democratic processes aimed at producing such candidates in the primary elections must also be seen to be free and fair to avoid heating up of the system.