{"id":125440,"date":"2026-02-06T14:45:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:45:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=125440"},"modified":"2026-02-06T14:45:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T13:45:09","slug":"parties-must-be-or-patriotic-or-elections-will-serve-no-purpose-inec","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/parties-must-be-or-patriotic-or-elections-will-serve-no-purpose-inec\/","title":{"rendered":"Parties Must be or Patriotic or Elections Will Serve No Purpose\u2014 INEC"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Tracy Moses<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that without active engagement from political parties and citizens, Nigeria\u2019s elections risk becoming hollow exercises, devoid of genuine democratic participation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Speaking at INEC\u2019s first regular consultative meeting with political parties on Thursday in Abuja, Chairman Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, acknowledged the impact of technological innovations like the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in curbing ballot fraud, but stressed that technology alone cannot restore public trust or boost voter turnout.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cTechnology is a tool, not a solution,\u201d Amupitan said. \u201cWithout active citizen participation and political parties educating and mobilising voters, our democracy will continue to suffer.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He highlighted a worrying trend in voter participation, noting that turnout in presidential elections fell from 53.7 per cent in 2011 to just 26.7 per cent in 2023. According to Amupitan, this decline reflects growing public distrust, fueled by anomalies in the voters\u2019 register, including duplicate registrations, entries for non-citizens, and records of deceased persons.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">To address these challenges, INEC plans a nationwide voter revalidation exercise ahead of the 2027 General Election. The exercise will sanitise the voters\u2019 register and ensure only eligible Nigerians can vote, with further details to be released in due course.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amupitan also urged political parties to intensify voter education and mobilisation, warning against vote-buying, which he described as a criminal offence that undermines the foundations of democracy.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He further called on party leaders to resolve internal disputes and strengthen internal democracy, noting that leadership crises and ongoing litigation distract from election preparations and erode public confidence.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Echoing these concerns, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) urged INEC to remain independent, neutral, and firm in its constitutional responsibilities as preparations for the 2027 General Election intensify.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cINEC must consistently provide a level playing field for all political parties and candidates,\u201d IPAC National Chairman Dr. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle said. He stressed that adherence to party constitutions in recognising leadership would reduce litigation and strengthen democratic stability.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">IPAC also called for reforms including the harmonisation of Nigeria\u2019s electoral legal framework, mandatory real-time transmission of results, and the conduct of all elections on the same day to curb costs and voter fatigue. Dantalle described the upcoming February 21, 2026, FCT Area Council elections as a key test of INEC\u2019s credibility ahead of the 2027 polls.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAs the umbrella body of all registered political parties in Nigeria, IPAC will continue to collaborate with INEC and other stakeholders to deepen democracy, promote political stability, and ensure credible elections,\u201d Dantalle concluded.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Without active participation from political parties and citizens, Amupitan warned, Nigeria\u2019s elections risk becoming mere formalities, failing to reflect the true will of the people.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Tracy Moses The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that without active engagement from political parties and citizens, Nigeria\u2019s elections risk becoming hollow exercises, devoid of genuine democratic&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":98035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - 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