Why I didn’t implement recommendations of 2014 National Conference – Jonathan

In Nigeria we can’t get accurate count of votes – Jonathan reveals

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has said the Nigerian electoral system cannot get accurate votes during elections in the country.

He made the revelation on Tuesday at the YIAGA Africa Reflection Conference on Democratic Elections in West Africa held in Abuja.

Advertisement

Jonathan noted that without strong and ethical leadership in electoral management, the electoral system would remain flawed.

He said: “In Nigeria, you can’t get an accurate count of votes because I believe that we have too many ghost voters.

Advertisement

“We must have credible people. From what (ex-INEC Chairman, Attahiru) Jega said, political leaders who are so domineering will pressurise you to do what is wrong; you should be able to resign and leave. You should be able to resign and walk away, please.

“If we don’t have this kind of people, then we are in trouble. And I don’t want any INEC official to say I was pressurised. If you are accepting to be Chairman of INEC or to be a commissioner of INEC, then you should be ready to say, ‘If I’m pressurised to do what is wrong, I will take care of the democratic people and walk away’.

‘’And if we don’t have such people managing our electoral management bodies, if what we have are people who will continue to go in a circle, we will not get what we want.”

He called for a robust electoral system that works to ensure credible elections.

Advertisement
Advertisement