Against the background of a series of electoral failures since 1999, the indictment by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, Attahiru Jega, that politicians, security agencies and other stakeholders frustrate the conduct of free, fair and credible elections, is a self-fulfilling prophecy that should worry all Nigerians; coming as the 2015 general elections take center stage. Delivering the keynote address, Friday at a one-day workshop on “Securing the 2015 Elections”, Jega said: “regrettably, the series of elections that we have had, the choice of the voter has in most cases been truncated. This is either by actions or inactions of the electoral commission or by the very aggressive and fraudulent conduct of participants in the electoral process.” Jega identified insecurity among other hurdles to the smooth conduct of elections. INEC undoubtedly has good intentions but after elections in Ekiti and Osun, good intentions are not enough. Jega’s righteous self-indignation creates doubts on INEC’s capacity to conduct credible elections. Such anxiety must be removed immediately because Nigeria’s political destiny hangs on a fair competition among contenders and impartiality of officials.
“Nigerians have aspired for democracy; they have aspired for free, fair and credible election for the deepening and consolidation of democracy. But this aspiration has been continuously frustrated to the extent that one can say many Nigerians have been wondering about whether democracy is worth it,” Jega stated, adding; the situation has discouraged many voters to a point of apathy and disillusionment, such that others have resorted to cynicism and nonchalance with election results even when obvious that such results were not their wish. Jega however maintained: “We are convinced that the prospects of having remarkably much better elections in 2015 are very bright. But we harbor no illusion that we have accounted for all the issues that could pose challenges for the elections.”
Among the challenges, Jega enumerated “insecurity, poor funding, attitude of the political class, apathetic and inactive citizenry, delay in amendment to the legal framework, completion of the review of electoral constituencies and polling units and prosecution of electoral offenders. These challenges are not insurmountable and we will spare no effort to ensure that the aspirations of Nigerians for free, fair, credible and peaceful elections are actualized in 2015”, he said at the forum organized by the UNDP in collaboration with the Police Force for Command Commissioners of Police. Jega’s sense of foreboding is not entirely misplaced. Given this appraisal, electoral pundits and Nigerians alike are hoping that 2015 will be a year of emendation, improvement and electoral excellence, thus placing their hope on the integrity of the leadership of the electoral umpire. INEC needs to rise up to the serious challenge of meeting that obligation.
Indeed, INEC has been up and doing to the extent of accentuating the general optimism of the electorate. The commission has filtered the electoral register it inherited from previous leadership of the commission; it has produced permanent voters cards (PVCs) complete with biometrics which are readable electronically and has deployed advanced software identification system (ASIS); it has also commenced continuous voter registration (CVR) and updated the electoral register; it has set up an Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) to address security concern in the conduct of election; and internally it continues to discipline erring staff and enhance human resources development. All these measures are geared towards having better elections in 2015.
In spite of the commendable efforts which the Jega-led INEC has made to reposition the organization, there are several factors that can doom the success or otherwise of an electoral exercise. The political environment matters; the attitude of political actors and the subjective elements of the electorate in terms of their confidence in the process are invaluable. And above all, the level of INEC’s preparedness counts. All this reinforces concern about the readiness of INEC, which has received just under half of the N93 bn. ($560 million) funding it requested; as every election seems more expensive than previous one. That millions of voters in opposition strongholds claim not to have received voting cards is unacceptable. Availability of voting cards to eligible voters is perhaps the basic step to organizing a hitch-free election. A voter’s card constitutionally empowers citizens to choose at the poll who leads them in representative capacities. Any eligible voter who has been correctly captured during registration is entitled to have the PVC which admits him or her to the polling unit. In the context, thousands of registered voters and political leaders have expressly protested, and justifiably so, their dismay at the hiccups that have so far attended the exercise.
In addition, INEC is still facing logistics and general organizational problems. The PVC is yet to be synchronized with the national identity card such that people will be able to vote without unnecessary paper work. INEC has also been unable to prosecute electoral offenders in the absence of special electoral offence tribunals set up for that purpose. Furthermore, INEC’s plan to add another 30,000 polling stations in the war-ravaged north east is suspended but no clear policy has emerged on enabling voting in states hit by the insurgency. At least 1.5 million people have been forced from their homes in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, all opposition strongholds.
Besides, how informed are voters about issues of franchise and choice? What is the level of voters’ confidence with regards to the value of their votes given the history of electoral malfeasance, which has dogged the country in the past? Much that is being done in this regard by INEC is not enough and there is much vacuum to be filled if mundane issues like “stomach infrastructure” and selling of voter’s card are to be subtracted from voters’ calculations. Worst of all, the proliferation of weapons all over Nigeria, and the failure of security agencies to tackle insecurity, or show political neutrality, augurs extremely badly. A reading of these factors, to be sure, is worrying, making the political atmosphere ahead of the 2015 election gloomy.
The 2011 general elections gave the country a basis for hope despite monumental post-election violence in some parts of the country. Both local and international observers gave the conduct of the elections a pass mark while acknowledging that there was room for improvement in future exercises. Subsequent polls from Anambra to Osun have provided a basis for optimism despite avoidable lapses. To avoid accusations of bungling the electoral process and raising suspicion of a questionable 2015 poll, INEC should continue distribution of PVCs till at least January 2015. All registered voters are constitutionally entitled to the PVCs. INEC should also explore the possibility of declaring results at polling stations to avoid the compromising hazards of the collation centers. This will surely be a demonstration of transparency. Ultimately, no politician or political party must gain any mileage over the other at the starting block. Politicians and their parties must realize that the time for vote rigging is past and should avoid violating the electoral process.
