Adibe Emenyonu
6 May 2008
Benin — A frontline politician, Chief Tom Ikimi, has advocated for open-secret ballot system of election, as the best for the country. Ikimi made this recommendation in an interview with THISDAY in Benin yesterday.
According to the one-time national chairman of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), "open-secret ballot is full-proof and devoid of mass rigging, ballot snatching, thuggery that characterised elections in the past eight years."
He said the beauty of the system is that both accreditation and voting takes place at the same time in all the polling units, making it difficult for any form of malpractice, because people are present when polls are counted and made public.
Ikimi said, "open-secret ballot is the best electoral system for Nigeria now because accreditation and voting starts at the same time all over the country which does not give people the time to divert voting material meant for one place to another place."
Ikimi, a member of the Action Congress (AC), also advocated for a legislation to punish election riggers, adding that the electoral reforms of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua is mere cosmetic meant to blindfold Nigerians.
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When the Ikimi's of this country begin to give us advice on democracy, it simply means that we are in serious trouble. Has the frontline politician so soon forgotten Abacharism or do he think that Nigerians have very short memories?