To get the robust buy-in and support of the modalities it has articulated to ensure that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) exercise their franchise in next month’s elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that it will hold a crucial meeting with stakeholders on Tuesday, 20th January 2015.
According to a press communication by the commission, the stakeholders are who will be attending the meeting are: three representatives of the State Governments of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe; Members of the State Houses of Assembly from the three States; Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly from the three States; representatives of CAN and SCIA; representatives of Security Agencies comprising Army, Police, DSS, Office of NSA, Chief of Defence Staff and Civil Defence Corps; Director General NEMA; CSOs (Cleen Foundation, ACE etc); DG IPCR; Present and Former RECs of the States and administrative secretaries of the states.
Determined to ensure that the IDPs are not disenfranchised in February’s elections, the Commission had two months ago organized a Roundtable to discuss the fate of the IDPs. Experts and academics generated brilliant ideas to address the issue of the IDPs which were submitted to the Commission. Thereafter, the Commission set up a Task Force on how to get the IDPs to vote within the ambit of the extant laws.
The nine-member Task Force headed by National Commissioner, Thelma Iremiren had the following terms of reference: examine the legal, political, security and administrative challenges in achieving IDP voting during the 2015 General Election.
They will also evaluate the standards and recommendations emerging from conferences and workshops by international and local agencies on IDP voting, and determine their applicability to Nigeria for the 2015 General Election.
Also, the committee will review the experiences of other jurisdictions in dealing with the challenges of IDP voting; evaluate the adequacy of existing electoral legal frame-work for resolving the challenges of IDP voting in the 2015 General Election; determine what the Commission can do to ensure that IDPs are not disenfranchised, if the existing legal framework is inadequate and determine the scope of IDP participation that is practicable in the 2015 General Election.
The committee is expected to submit a comprehensive report, which will embody specific recommendations on IDP participation in the 2015 General Election.
INEC to Hold Two-Day National Youth Summit
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in collaboration with UNDP-DGD, is to hold a two-day National Youth Summit from Monday 19th to Tuesday, 20th January 2015.
The Summit which theme is ‘Nigerian Youths: Working for Peaceful Elections, Deepening Nigeria’s Democracy” is to take place at the Chelsea Hotel, Abuja.
A keynote address will be delivered at the occasion by the INEC Chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega. Goodwill messages are to be presented by the Minister of Youth Development, Boni Haruna; Director-General, National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig. General, Johnson Olawumi; Chairman Interparty Advisory Council (IPAC), Dr Yunusa Tanko; USAID Country Manager, Michael Harvey; European Union Delegation; ECOWAS Elections Unit; and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA).
