A further postponement of Nigeria’s general elections beyond the<\/p>\n
rescheduled polling day of March 28 would be “unconstitutional”, the
\ncountry’s election chief, Attahiru Jega, said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
“I don’t see how anybody can contemplate any extension beyond these six
\nweeks because there is no constitutional grounds on which you can do
\nthat,” Jega said in testimony to the Senate.<\/p>\n
Jega told the chamber that his Independent National Electoral Commission
\n(INEC) was prepared to hold the vote on the original polling day, February
\n14, but was persuaded to support a delay by guidance from the country’s
\nsecurity chiefs.
\nNational Security Advisor Sambo Dasuki and military top brass said
\nsoldiers would not be able provide election security nationwide because
\nthey were fighting Boko Haram in the northeast.<\/p>\n
The Islamist rebels have continued killing at a relentless pace, including
\nat least 38 deaths in two separate suicide attacks on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The military has also claimed major gains in recent days.<\/p>\n
Asked how he would respond if the security agencies requested a further
\ndelay, Jega referred to a constitutional provision that requires elections
\nto be concluded at least 30 days before May 29, when a new government must
\nbe sworn in.<\/p>\n
“Every Nigerian knows we want elections to hold… within a constitutional
\ntimeframe,” he told senators.<\/p>\n
“The security agencies are (made up of) patriotic Nigerians. Let’s give
\nthem the benefit of the doubt.”<\/p>\n
But he added that a further delay “will only have to be unconstitutional
\nand I don’t see how anybody can contemplate unconstitutional things”.<\/p>\n
There were widespread accusations that the military pushed for the delay
\nto allow President Goodluck Jonathan more time to revive his struggling
\nre-election campaign.<\/p>\n
Experts say he is facing a tough test against former military ruler
\nMuhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress party, with the vote
\nlikely too close to call.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A further postponement of Nigeria’s general elections beyond the rescheduled polling day of March 28 would be “unconstitutional”, the country’s election chief, Attahiru Jega, said on Wednesday. “I don’t see…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n