Edo Polls: Triumph Of A People’s Will

At long last, the cloud of doubts that formed around a credible, free and fair election in Edo

State, South-South Nigeria settled in Benin-City, Sunday, with the release of final results.  And if public reaction is any lead to go by, the outcome of the governorship elections held on Saturday, July 14, 2012 is a product of thorough planning and indeed a resounding triumph of a people’s will.

Interestingly, before the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Chief Returning Officer and Vice Chancellor of University of Benin, Professor Osayuki Oshodi, declared the incumbent Governor, Comrade Adams Oshomhole as winner, after securing 477,478 votes or 73.73 percent of the total votes cast, not many gave the electoral body any chance to deliver on its promise of a credible election.

In fact, the eventual victor, Governor Oshomhole openly expressed lack of faith in the planning, balloting and collation process and frequently urged the electorate to defend their votes by resisting any attempt to manipulate the process.  At the same time, one of the contesting political parties, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) accused the two leading contenders, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), on which platform Governor Oshomhole won the polls and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), of pumping excessive funds into the process.

In the end, although only 647,698 votes were cast, representing 40 per cent of the total registered voters of 1,651,099 in the state, a reflection of the familiar voter apathy in recent elections, the Edo State elections have been adjudged as relatively free, fair and indeed credible. Therefore, the outcome should further strengthen voters’ confidence in the electoral process and see the possibility, that their votes could count.

The Edo example has indeed provided Nigerians a reason to believe in their country and her democracy.   More importantly, the improved process has provided a template upon which INEC must build, in planning future elections.

But perhaps, significant for mention is the measure of dedication and sense of commitment demonstrated by the electoral body in the planning, up to the final outcome of the Edo governorship elections. INEC sources revealed that apart from improved security, with the deployment of soldiers to complement regular policing, each of the 18 local government areas was superintended by an Electoral Commissioner (EC).

Certainly, that would not have been possible in a general election with all states on the ballot. Although, as INEC itself conceded, the involvement of such high caliber of officials was a learning process, the Edo success has further raised calls for staggered elections in the country.

Surely, staggered polls have immense benefits, one of which is that it allows adequate resources, both human and material to be meaningfully deployed to areas of need to ensure success of such polls. Some however, contend that staggered elections are prone to easy engagement of mercenaries to bear fake voter cards to rig elections, with the connivance of willing adhoc INEC staff.

We think that both options need to be weighed thoroughly and the better adopted in future elections.  INEC should also use the knowledge acquired in such areas as staff deployment, timely dispatch of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials, adequate sensitisation and security and more importantly, sufficient education in future polls, to reassure the electorate that their votes will count.

Indeed, Edo votes counted due to a combination of these and more factors one of which is President Goodluck Jonathan’s rare display of statesmanship that clearly transcends partisan and personal preferences.  As leader of the ruling party, PDP, who, personally led his own party in the final campaigns in Benin City, not many Nigerians, believed that he would not manipulate the outcome in favour of the PDP.

Indeed, we agree with President Jonathan that Oshomhole’s works in Edo, in the past tenure stood as worthy credentials for his re-election by the Edo people.  That victory, we think, should be considered as a bigger challenge to even do more.

However, Nigerians need to begin to have faith in their country and her fledging democracy and not to find faults all the time.  For, if the negative criticisms that attended the process were to be used as yardstick, Nigerians ought to reject the results, even if it reflected the people’s will.  Certainly, had the end result of the Edo elections been different, all early critics, including the now jubilant Governor Oshomhole would have cried wolf and felt sufficiently short changed. Such pre-emptive campaigns need to be checked.

Electoral victory it, must be said, does not always come about, who shouts the loudest, but who the voters truly believe in and want.  That, exactly, is what the Edo election has shown.

While, we congratulate the Edo people for their steadfastness in standing for what they believe, we find it also instructive to admonish Governor Oshomhole to be gracious in victory and see all, including co-contestants, as worthy stakeholders who must be accommodated.  Only that will discourage the now notorious “win-at-all-cost” culture among politicians.