Lack of tolerance and impatience on the part of politicians have been identified as the major reasons for the inconclusive results of elections in recent times.
This view was expressed by the Kogi State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Samuel Madaki Usman, at a stakeholders’ meeting in preparation for the repeat of rerun election in the Kogi East Senatorial District.
Usman said that the politicians were to blame for not being patient and magnanimous enough to accept that if they fail to win on one occasion, there would always be another time.
He said, “A scenario occurs where the number of registered people is higher that the gap between the two leading contestants for a given office. When this happens, the contest is declared inconclusive and another opportunity to allow for free exercise of franchise by all registered voters is given.”
“Almost all contests declared inconclusive are as a result of denial by violence caused by no other persons but supporters of candidates of political parties.”
Usman said that it has always been the commission’s belief that if violence is resolved in the process, all elections would be free, fair, acceptable and conclusive.
He urged the politicians to always advise their supporters to avoid a breakdown of law and order that might lead to another inconclusive election.
The meeting was part of the commission’s efforts to build the confidence of all stakeholders before the repeat of the rerun election.
He called on the politicians to provide an assurance that a conducive election environment existed before the rerun election.
The resident commissioner expressed the commission’s resolve to continue to create a level playing field for all players in the electoral process and to be seen as doing so with the intention of continually adding value to the process
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