Essential Ndubuisi
Candidates Going To August Meeting To Campaign, Should Beware!
…it is against electoral act 2022.
AIF Media
BETWEEN DESPERATION, IGNORANCE AND THE LAW
Ignorance, it has been established, is not an excuse in jurisprudence. This principle arose from the famous assertion of Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S president who said: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse in any country. If it were, the laws would lose their effect, because it can always be pretended”. Many countries have codified this principle. In fact Section 22 of Nigeria’s Criminal Code Act recognizes this principle which literally means that people cannot defend their actions by claiming that they did not know the law.
This principle comes in the face of heightened political activities in the polity. It’s understandable that the nation is in dire straits and in their attempts to highlight Nigeria’s political and economic challenges, many politicians are running foul of the electoral guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). According to the guidelines, campaigns will start September 18, 2022.
Desperation has even driven some to breach some sections of 2022 Electoral Act. For instance, August Meeting is an annual and important event in liturgical calendar of the major religious denominations in the South East. It’s purely a religious gathering of women where they discuss their faith and welfare. In the past, politicians use to swarm these gatherings seeking votes. But the new electoral law has changed that. Section 97 of the 2022 Electoral Act says: “A candidate, person or association who engages in campaigning or broadcasting based on the religious, tribal, or sectional reason for the purpose of promoting or opposing a particular political party, or the election of a particular candidate, commits an offense under this Act and is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of one million Naira or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both; and in the case of a political party, to a maximum fine of ten million Naira”.
Therefore, political party candidates, particularly those aspiring to be part of the legislative arm of government, who have been touring various August Meetings and canvassing political views, are seriously committing breaches of the electoral Act. They are ignorantly digging their electoral grave.
Daily News Reporters
