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Okechukwu To INEC Chair: Credible Elections Are Strongest Antidote To Intra-Party Impunity


 

Former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON), Mr Osita Okechukwu, has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, to focus on delivering free, fair and credible elections, saying this remains the most effective way to curb impunity within political parties.

Okechukwu made the call in a press release issued on Sunday while responding to the INEC chairman’s recent appeal to political parties to uphold the principles of internal democracy during a courtesy visit to former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, in Minna, Niger State.

According to the statement, Okechukwu noted that the INEC chairman had repeatedly stressed the need for internal democracy, having made similar remarks in Akwa Ibom in March 2026 and again in Abuja in June 2026.

While agreeing that internal democracy is important, he argued that credible elections provide the strongest incentive for political parties to respect democratic principles.

“Whereas one agrees with the Chairman that strict observance of internal democracy within political parties is of paramount importance; the greatest incentive for political parties to uphold internal democracy is the consistent conduct of free, fair, and transparent elections by INEC,” he said.

He added that political parties are more likely to present widely accepted candidates when they believe the electoral process is credible.

“Political party leaders will do everything within the ambit of the law to keep their houses in order and present the most acceptable and popular candidates when they are confident that elections will be free and fair. In such circumstances, they are compelled to obey the wishes of the electorate. However, when elections are perceived as lacking transparency, internal party conflicts and impunity are more likely to thrive,” he said.

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