2015:How Prepared Is INEC?

Post-election disputes
have been a serious challenge to Nigeria’s electoral system and indeed a shackle on the nation’s development.
Most of the military interventions Nigeria had witnessed were not unconnected with post-election disputes arising from election rigging and other sundry irregularities, as was the case with 1964 and 1983 general elections.
Save for the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election won by the late business mogul, Chief M.K.O. Abiola, and which was adjudged the freest and fairest in Nigeria’s electoral history, Nigeria has had the chequered history of conducting questionable elections.
In the last 14 years since Nigeria returned to democratic path, the country had conducted four general elections. Each of them reeked of fraud. The fairest of them which was the 2011 general elections was not spared of some  irregularities either.
The 2007 general elections conducted by Prof. Maurice Iwu led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were particularly a rape of democracy. The highest beneficiary of the election, late President Umar Yar’Adua acknowledged the electoral fraud and quickly inaugurated an Electoral Reform Committee (ERC) headed by Justice Muhammed Uwais (rtd) to review the elections, the nation’s electoral law, and make recommendations on how to improve on future elections.
Unfortunately, there was little progress in the adoption of ERC’s reports before Yar’Adua died in 2009. As soon as Yar’Adua’s successor, Jonathan took the driver’s seat as the Acting President, he announced his support for the ERC’s recommendations and eventually sent them to the National Assembly for onward review and adoption. Notwithstanding the series of delay suffered by the amendment, the electoral act review scaled the legislative hurdles after the harmonised version of the act was voted on, on July 30, 2010 by the Senate.
In spite of the success recorded by the Electoral Act 2010, many people believe it is not yet Uhuru for Nigeria’s electoral system. It is against this background that INEC reviewed the act and made some recommendations to the National Assembly after the 2011 general elections.
The INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega said the commission had reviewed the existing Electoral Act since after the 2011 general elections, and had passed its recommendations to the National Assembly on the need for amendment. This, according to the INEC boss, is to improve on the legal framework for the 2015 general elections to be conducted by the commission.
“There is very likely going to be an amendment to the existing Electoral Act. As a commission, we have reviewed the existing Electoral Act since after the 2011 general elections and we have made recommendations to the National Assembly on the need to make certain amendments in order to improve the legal framework for the elections,” Jega said.
Some of the INEC’s recommendations to the National Assembly include those bordering on its operational independence, the electronic voting and being at the forefront of the establishment of an Electoral Offences Tribunal or Electoral Offences Commission.
Although nobody, including the INEC, is sure of when the amendment would be done, there are indications that the National Assembly is committed to amend the existing Electoral Act within a sufficient time for INEC to be able to fathom it into its preparations for the 2015 elections.
Penultimate week, the Senate began some far-reaching moves to amend the electoral act. The moves were in line with the recommendations of the Senate Committee on Review of the 1999 Constitution led by the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.
Among the recommendations of the committee include, the proposal to transfer the powers to appoint the INEC secretary on renewable four year tenure from the INEC chairman to the President, lifting of embargo on electronic voting system, transfer of powers to fix and sequence election dates from the INEC to the National Assembly, extension of the conduct of governorship and presidential run-off elections from seven to 21 days, and empowerment of the INEC to de-register any political party which fails to win a seat from local government to presidential elections.
Other proposals include the conferment of the exclusive jurisdiction to try offences relating to violation of the Electoral Act on the Federal High court, and a proposal to mandate the clerks of the National Assembly and state houses of assembly to notify INEC in writing of the existence of vacant seats in the legislature, arising from death, resignation or vacation of such seats within seven days of such vacancies.
Although, all the amendments proposed by Ekweremadu’s committee had already passed their second reading in the Senate, most of them had generated heated debate and controversy.
For instance, the proposal to transfer the power to fix and sequence election dates from the electoral body to the federal legislature was described as very curious and self-serving. Political analysts punctured the arguments put forward by the proponents of the amendment that, resting such powers on the INEC amounts to relinquishing the fate of Nigeria’s democracy on the INEC chairman. According to them, the legislature cannot be an umpire in an election in which it is a participant.
Another area of contention is the proposal to adopt electronic voting for the 2015 elections.
A constitutional lawyer cum politician, Mr Jimi Agbaje said, “if there is one thing that we need to get right, if it is possible, that would have a multiplier effect on the rest, it is this electronic voting process. If we can get this right, the tendency is that it would reduce rigging and this idea of people sitting down in one room and writing results.”
Agbaje who was speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Politics Today,’ last Sunday, added that electronic voting would “also help good governance in absolute terms because if a politician knows that it is the voters that matter in the electoral process, they will respect the ballot box.”
He was, however, quick to add that Nigeria was not ready for electronic voting. He said there were many things that would need to be put in place for electronic voting system to work in Nigeria.
According to him, Nigerians would need to believe in the system for it to work, while INEC would need to convince Nigerians that the electronic voting would be fraud proof before embracing it.
There are also palpable fears among Nigerians that deploying electronic voting at this time when general elections are just nine months away is capable of undermining the 2015 general elections.  While Nigerians are not oblivious of the global trend towards e-voting system, they are apprehensive about the workability and effectiveness of the system in a country where electricity is still in short supply and internet facilities are insufficient. For successful e-voting system in the country, therefore, many people believe more time will be required to properly condition he polity for its usage.
The INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr Olumide Osaze-Uzzi shares this view when he said the commission was not insisting on the use of e-voting for the 2015 elections. He said the INEC was only requesting for it to be allowed to commence the process whereby foundations are laid for the exercise to be able to take off soon.
There is no doubt that the plan to review the existing electoral act is aimed at strengthening the electoral system in the country. But while the nation is waiting for the Senate to consider most of these proposed amendments, it is also imperative for the INEC to raise its game.
According to Agbaje, any form of amendment being proposed for the Electoral Act would be coming against the background of how much INEC can do.
At every forum, the INEC chairman has repeatedly assured Nigerians of better elections in 2015, but given the sharp contrast between 2012 governorship election in Edo State which gave Nigerians a ray of hope and the subsequent November 16, 2013 gubernatorial election in Anambra State which produced disastrous results and also eroded the confidence of Nigerians in the electoral body, the question is, how prepared is Jega’s INEC?

 
Boye Salau