Recall election costlier than constituency election – INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it is more expensive to conduct a recall election than a constituency election.

Special Adviser to INEC Chairman, Mohammed Kunna, made this statement during an online discussion on “INEC Regulation and Guidelines for Recall 2024.” The discussion also covered BVAS and IREV: Facts and Myths.

The event was held on Saturday via the X social media platform.

Kunna explained that conducting a recall election was similar to conducting three constituency elections.

“Once a petition is received and verified to meet legal requirements, INEC must first conduct a verification exercise at the affected polling units.

“For that verification to happen, we have to use the Bi-Modal Voter Verification System (BVAS) because those who signed the petition must be verified as genuine registered voters in those units.

“Then, INEC needs to establish 50 per cent plus one signature from the constituency.

“After that, we proceed to the final stage: conducting the referendum, which involves a yes or no vote by registered voters in the constituency,” Kunna said.

He added that this process involved mobilising staff, deploying election materials, transportation, and other resources, much like conducting three senatorial district elections.

“In my opinion, the recall process is much more expensive than conducting a single senatorial district election,” he said.

The Chief Press Secretary to INEC Chairman, Mr Rotimi Oyekanmi, acknowledged the high cost but emphasised that INEC must adhere to the law.

“What is important is what the law says we should do in each case if constituents wish to recall their representatives,” Oyekanmi said.

Earlier, Oyekanmi explained that INEC’s regulations and the Electoral Act specified the process for conducting a recall election.

“The law allows a recall election only if the petitioners meet constitutional requirements, including submitting signatures from at least half of the registered voters in the constituency.

“Once the petition is received, INEC performs a preliminary check and then verifies the signatures.

“The lawmaker facing recall is informed and has the right to deploy agents to observe the process.

“Observers and media personnel can also participate in the verification and referendum,” he said.

Oyekanmi also addressed the possibility of online voting, stating that the Constitution did not permit INEC to conduct electronic voting.