INEC reveals why it’s declaring elections inconclusive recently

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on Friday, said increasing competitiveness between political parties and the decreasing margin between winners and runners-up into executive and legislative positions are partly the reasons elections were being declared inconclusive.

The INEC National Commissioner, supervising FCT, Niger, Kaduna and Plateau States Antonia Okoosi- Simbine, who stated this in Jos at the presentation of certificates of return to the re-elected governor and state assembly members, stated that inconclusive elections in itself was not a bad thing but stressed that such elections were not surprising when a few big parties are contesting for power at every level.

Simbine explained that: “Our democracy is deepening incrementally, having conducted the sixth successive election without any interregnum; there is improved integrity in the electoral system; the elections are becoming more and more competitive and the margin between winners and runners-up are decreasing to the extent that in many instances, elections into the executive and legislatures are increasingly becoming inconclusive.”

She however, said this is further compounded by the lack of internal democracy in the political parties and the desperation of candidates and their supporters, driven by the fear of losing everything.

INEC described as unfortunate, a new trend where some parties and candidates engaged in violent behaviour which included manhandling election duty officials and advised all disgruntled persons and parties to feel free to seek judicial remedy where they believed they had genuine cases to pursue.