ELECTION, ELECTIONEERING VIOLENCE AND THE TENDENCY OF INCONCLUSIVE ELECTION IN THE 2023 GUBERNATORIAL Election IN KANO STATE By Aliyu Isha...
ELECTION, ELECTIONEERING VIOLENCE AND THE TENDENCY OF INCONCLUSIVE ELECTION IN THE 2023 GUBERNATORIAL Election IN KANO STATE
Election in most democratic state in Africa is characterized by political violence, thuggery, vote buying and all other forms of electoral mayhem. In fact, one can say there has never been a time when election take place in Nigeria without election violence. particularly in some state like Lagos, Kano, Bauchi, kaduna and Kogi to mention few.
This assertion above brought us to the recent scenario of the just concluded 2023 gubernatorial election in Kano state. this election like any other one is not devoid of political violence. this menace has triggered many people withing and outside the social media space to project an inconclusive election in state like kano, kaduna, taraba to mention few.
Presently, this has made the APC led administration in Kano state to disagree with the INEC election result that declare ABBA KABIR YUSUF as the winner of the gubernatorial race in the state.
However, the APC must understand that INEC do not have the power to declare an election inconclusive after that election have been declare as a conclusive election by the returning officer of a state.Although, there are some instances that may warrant the electoral umpire to do so just like the case of ADO DOGUWA IN KANO STATE. which INEC Believe the Returning officer report the result under dueress. This I believe is the logic behind section 65 of the Electoral Act rendering INEC’s power in this regard purely discretionary.
To put it differently, the returning officer for the kano state gubernatorial election gave his reference on the electoral act to return Abba Kabir Yusuf as the winner of the election. as such calling the election an inconclusive by INEC or any other body will be a disregard and disrespect for rule of law. It is not therefore within INEC’s power, for any reason, to reinterpret or reapply the law in Kano’s situation.
In my own opinion, The proper channel for APC to lodge their complain will be the court of law this is because, INEC does not have the power to interprete the law. they can only review the election report and can only declare election inconclusive when they realize that the declaration and return was not made voluntarily or was made contrary to the provisions of the law, regulations and guidelines, and manual for the election as stapulated in section 65 of the electoral act.
To sum it up, it is important to understand that an inconclusive election is therefore an election in which a winner has not emerged at first balloting base on section 26 and 53 of the electoral act. however in the case of kano. the returning officer after reviewing the recent electoral act of section 23 and 56 declare AKY As the returned elected governor of kano state can not be called an inconclusive election. as such declaring kano state election as inconclusive by the electoral umpire will amount to gross illegality as opine by Abba Hikima
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