CONCRETE proof that elections in the country still fall short of global standards has been re-established. With the world watching, the governorship election of July 14 in Ekiti State was marred by a series of security lapses.
CONCRETE proof that elections in
the country still fall short of global standards has been
re-established. With the world watching, the governorship election of
July 14 in Ekiti State was marred by a series of security lapses. The
election witnessed malpractices by the main parties – the All
Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party. For the upcoming
general election in 2019 not to suffer a similar fate, the Independent
National Electoral Commission and the security agencies have to develop
counter-measures to disarm desperate politicians.According to media reports as
well as domestic and international monitors, the election in which INEC
declared Kayode Fayemi of the APC victorious over his main contender,
Kolapo Olusola (PDP), descended into a morass. This was because of
vote-buying, snatching of ballot boxes and sporadic shooting, despite
the heavy presence of security agents. The monitors argued that the
militarisation of the election also undermined the process since many
voters stayed away because they feared violence.
However, the most pervasive
irregularity was vote-buying. The reports stated that party agents
openly distributed cash to voters to sway them to their side while
police looked the other way. This is a charade, another blot on
Nigeria’s democracy, as it also featured in the last governorship polls
in Ondo and Edo.
The denial by the main actors
that there was no cash inducement rings hollow. The default mode of
Nigerian politicians is to deny the obvious. Neither Nigerians nor the
international observers believe this face-saving fabrication. This was a
contest meant to prove which party had the financial war chest to
outbid the others. INEC confirmed the farce a few days later through a
communiqué, condemning “the rising phenomenon of vote-buying.”
Abuja-based Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness said,
“The exercise witnessed a high level of unprecedented electoral related
challenges. Such abuse will remain contentious until justice prevails,
especially in the areas of cash inducement, arrests of political
stalwarts by security agents and snatching of electoral materials by
political thugs, among other abuses.”
This is the uncomfortable truth;
and it is not even new. Nigerian politicians have been going to great
lengths to circumvent the system since the return to democracy in 1999.
It calls into question the security operations for the poll. A few days
to Election Day, the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris,
deployed 30,000 police officers, 250 patrol vehicles and
two helicopters, among other measures, in Ekiti. Military personnel and
other security agencies also deployed their operatives in the state.
All this failed to stop party agents from moving cash about to induce
voters. It is a pointer to the fact that the presence of security agents
during elections in Nigeria does not guarantee credible polls.
However, it is heart-warming
that INEC seems to have taken care of its own end. The monitoring groups
averred that the umpire adequately handled the logistics. Accreditation
and voting with the Permanent Voter Card went on smoothly and
simultaneously, aided by the use of the Smart Card Reader device, a
technology that seems to have given the commission the edge over party
thugs, who used to snatch ballot boxes and thumbprint ballot papers en
masse. The dubious culture of forging results at collation was subdued
by the device, as it constrained rigging through inflation of votes.
To INEC’s credit, the
declaration of result was done in good time. This could partly be
attributable to the fact that the election took place in just one state
out of 36, without the House of Assembly polls to boot. Another
governorship election comes up in September in Osun State, but the major
test is in the general election in 2019, in which the whole country
will vote to choose a president, 469 federal lawmakers and their
counterparts in state assemblies and governors.
That test will define the
essence of INEC and the fate of Nigeria’s fragile union. It will also
show whether the umpire has really overcome its troubles. President
Muhammadu Buhari alluded to the complex assignment before INEC last week
during his speech at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. He
extensively spoke on the 2019 polls and promised the international
community that they would be free, fair and credible. Global leaders are
watching Nigeria, which habitually undermines its own democracy by
getting state agencies that have nothing to do with elections too deeply
involved in the process. Therefore, Buhari’s avowal will only register
at home and with the global audience if he can reduce the interference
of the public and security agencies in the coming elections. With the
“do-or-die” mentality of politicians here, this will not be a child’s
play.
Electoral infringements should
be severely punished. And INEC cannot afford to be complacent. Nigeria
cannot be truly democratic until its electorate have the opportunity to
choose their representatives through free and fair elections. To meet
the minimum standards, INEC’s impartiality and the effectiveness of the
security agencies need to be reinforced before the 2019 elections.
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