CHAIRMAN, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, on Thursday, declared that elected officers who defected from their political parties ought to vacate their seats and allow for fresh elections to fill the vacant seats accordingly.
Professor Jega, speaking at an all-political parties summit, in Abuja, on Thursday, said the commission had submitted a proposal to that effect to the National Assembly.
Jega, while lamenting the rampant change of political parties by politicians, declared that "while we must respect the right of citizens to choose at will which parties to belong, as part of their freedom of association, the negative effects of hemorrhage of party members and rancour it generates cannot be underestimated."
The INEC boss, who described such defections as political normadism, said "on one hand, the legal framework is not too clear. If you are elected on the platform of a political party and you cross-carpet, obviously you have to relinquish the seat and allow election to be conducted to fill that seat. This is an important issue we should address."
Jega further hinted that INEC had submitted a proposal for the amendment of the Electoral Act to expunge the provision empowering the commission to de-register political parties.
Tribune
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