Voting in Lagos during the 2007 gubernatorial and state elections - democracy - voting vote electoral election. (Photo Courtesy Aliou Goloko/allAfrica.com)

Abuja — Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega yesterday clarified his position on the 2011 general elections and said the commission was not seeking the postponement beyond 120 or 150 days to the May 29 swearing-in date stipulated by the newly amended constitution.

Jega who spoke to THISDAY on phone through his chief press secretary, Mr. Kayode Idowu said the commission was determined to conduct the 2011 elections within the ambit of the law.

Also deputy senate president, Ike Ekweremadu said the National Assembly would do everything possible to assist INEC to conduct a credible, free and fair elections.

Jega said the next election was feasible within the available time.

Idowu had explained that Jega at a press conference which was specifically meant to address the preparation of the commission toward the conduct of the general elections only explained the various options open to the commission in its bid to conduct free polls.

"The Chairman only explained that the commission will need to review the voters' register to give credibility to the elections and there are some legal and financial obstacles which need to be scaled to achieve this.

"He then noted that since the constitution stipulates that the election must hold 120 or 150 days to the handover date, then the election can only hold between December 30, 2010 and January 29, 2011.

"Also Section 31(1) of the Electoral Act provides that notice of election must be issued 150 days prior to an election.

"That being the case, to hold the first election on January 8, 2011, the commission must issue the notice by August 11,2010.

"Another provision of the law which also requires to be amended is the ambiguity in Section 10(5) of the Electoral Act which is taken to mean the registration of voters updating and revision of voters register must end 120 days before an election," he said.

Jega noted that the INEC had proposed to the National Assembly for these sections to be amended because without the change in provision of the law then the compilation of a new voters register cannot be done after September 9, 2010, which is barely two months from now.

INEC, he said, also wants the number of days in which the claims objections, verification, correction and final certification of the voters register can continue to be reduced from 60 days into an election.

Jega had at a press conference also added that "following extensive consultations with experts in electronic voters registration and logistics, as well as manufacturers and vendors of electronic data capture equipment our assessment is that it will cost between N55billion and N772 billion to conduct a credible compilation of a new voters' register between August and November.

However, the INEC Chairman yesterday said "there is a favourable indication from the National Assembly that the lawmakers will oblige the commission the amendments to the Electoral Act.

"Also, there are positive indications from the executive over the necessary funds required for making necessary preparations for the elections."

He said a pointer to the readiness of the legislative and executive arms of the federal government to provide all that is necessary for credible poll is last week's passage by the Senate of the necessary amendments to Section 10 (5) which will now allow registration, updating and revision of the voters' register to end 60 days before election instead of the present 120 days.

Jega said the commission was hopeful that similar amendments will be passed by the House of Representatives.

When THISDAY asked the INEC Chairman what the commission will require to give Nigerian credible polls, he said "What INEC needs is the co-operation of every stakeholder in the task of delivering credible election.Prof Jega has repeatedly said the commission is open to constructive suggestions from the public and every stakeholder on how it can accomplish the task.

The positive contribution of everybody is very critical to the task before INEC," he said.

Meanwhile, Senator Ekweremadu has allayed the fear expressed last Thursday by INEC Chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega was probably based on some provisions of the 2006 Electoral Act, which have now been amended in the re-enacted Electoral Act. The new Electoral Act amendment bill passed third reading stage at the Senate the same day Jega addressed the press.

Ekweremadu said for instance, the Senate in its amendment of the 2006 Electoral Act had shifted the closing date for voters registration forward to 60 days before the commencement of election from the 120 days stipulated by the old Act.

"In effect, INEC has between now and end of October to update the voters register," he said.

In the same vein, the Deputy Senate President said the upper chamber had also reduced the publication date of Notice of Election to 90 days as against the former 120 days, adding, "we even went further to reduce the time frame for political parties to submit their lists of candidates from 90 to 60 days before the commencement of elections."

He however said that if despite all these amendments, which he described as "sufficiently conducive" for the conduct of credible election in January, the INEC and other stakeholders still feel they are not ready for the January date and want it to be extended, "then we will all have to sit down down and take a second look at it."

Ekweremadu however condemned what he called the tendency of the opposition parties and some civil society organisations to shift the goal post once their initial clamour had been met.

"Were these people not the same ones that canvassed the wholesale adoption of there commendations of the Uwais Committee on Electoral Reforms?" he asked.

He said now that some of those recommendations had been incorporated into the amended Electoral Act, the Action Congress (AC), especially, and the civil society groups are singing a different tune.

On Friday, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and 14 civil society groups expressed fear that next year's general elections could not hold in January in line with the provision of sections 132 and 178 of the amended 1999 constitution.

They therefore canvassed made the affected sections should be suspended and maed to take effect from 2015.

The NBA and the groups during a visit to INEC's head office in Abuja presented a position paper in which they insisted that the general election slated for January 2011 be shifted to April of the same year, so as to accommodate a fresh voters register and amendments to the Constitution and the Electoral Act.