By Tony Edike

ENUGU— RESIDENT Electoral Commissioner of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, in  Ebonyi State, Dr. Humphery Nwangene, has warned that the nation might experience a major political crisis if a credible electoral system was not put in place before the 2011 general elections.

“If the events leading to and including the elections are not well managed, the potential for an implosion will manifest and this will erode the matrix of our unity and sovereignty, leaving whatever remains weak and vulnerable,” Nwangene said in a paper he presented at the 3rd annual lecture of the University of Benin Alumni Association, Enugu branch, yesterday.

The REC further cautioned that “if we play to the gallery, fanning the embers of religious bigotry, sectional fears and sticking to inflexible selfish stance that does not accept the right of all Nigerians to exist and be protected by a common constitution, there could be an explosion and the experiences of Yugoslavia may replicate itself here.”

He said the electoral body must do all within its powers to give the country acceptable, free and fair elections next year.

He stated that the unity, peace, survival and sustenance of the country’s fledgling democracy rests squarely on the outcome of the exercise which, he added, would become a reference point to the evolution of the country.

Nwangene, who stated that the country possessed the potentials for organizing a peaceful and transparent elections, however, raised concerns about  various factors that would likely pose serious threat to the realization of the electoral  process.

According to the REC, the role of incumbency, anti-corruption, retired generals in the Army, ethnicism and amended constitution/ electoral act as well as the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and other political parties would either impact positively or negatively on the election, stressing that reforms within political parties would further impact  in the process.