Newly nominated INEC chairman, Professor Joash Ojo Amupitan (SAN),
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, has revealed that about 75 percent of all litigations involving the commission arise from pre-election disputes, most of which are fueled by internal wrangling and leadership crises within political parties.
Speaking with journalists in Awka on Wednesday, Amupitan expressed concern over the rising number of court cases linked to political party primaries and poor internal democracy, noting that such disputes drain both the commission’s finances and manpower.
> “It bothers me because of the money and the time wasted. Every party going to court must join INEC in the suit. Once that happens, we have to appear in court, hire lawyers, and of course, it’s never cheap,” he lamented.
According to him, most of the cases stem from party primaries conducted in violation of party constitutions and the Electoral Act, leading to legal tussles that often distract from the main electoral process.
Amupitan criticized the public for focusing solely on INEC’s role in election conduct while overlooking the lack of transparency in political party operations. He noted that INEC is intensifying its monitoring efforts to ensure that parties adhere strictly to internal democratic principles.
> “That does not mean we’re not doing our job,” he explained. “However, we’ve noticed loopholes in the law. For instance, today a court in Abuja orders a party not to hold its convention, while another in Ibadan gives a contradictory ruling that the same party must go ahead with its convention.”
On the matter of registering new political parties, the INEC boss stressed that the commission is bound by law to register any association that meets the constitutional and electoral requirements.
Citing the landmark case of Musa vs INEC, Amupitan reminded that the Supreme Court had affirmed the commission’s constitutional duty to register qualified political parties.
> “We are constrained in many ways,” he said. “If an association meets the criteria set out in the Constitution and the Electoral Act, after proper assessment and monitoring, INEC has no choice but to consider it for registration.”
Responding to calls for the creation of a special court for election-related cases, Amupitan clarified that the existing election tribunals already serve as special courts established under the Constitution.
> “Election tribunals are, by nature, special courts,” he explained. “For example, when the Court of Appeal sits as a presidential election tribunal, it operates as a special court distinct from its regular judicial functions.”
He added that while the ongoing constitutional amendment process might consider reforms to shorten case timelines and reduce technical delays, creating an entirely new court system would be a complex and lengthy constitutional task.
Amupitan reaffirmed INEC’s commitment to upholding democratic values and strengthening its oversight of political parties to ensure credible elections and sustainable democracy in Nigeria.
(NAN)
