The Voter And 2015 Elections

Miss Faith Onah is a
22-year-old student of University of Port Harcourt.
She has just received her Permanent Voter Card and is eager to vote in the rescheduled general elections.
This is because Faith could not vote in the 2011 election because she did not register and nobody informed her about the importance of voting during elections.
“To be honest, I came to know the importance of being a voter in an election through a workshop recently organised by the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
“The Agency convinced me that as a voter, I hold the key to the success of any election. I am now wiser and eager to vote for a candidate of my choice in this year’s election,’’ she said.
In the same vein, Mrs Martina Eneh, a 28-year-old teacher and mother of three, has also collected her Permanent Voter Card.
“The competitive nature of this year’s election has made me to realise the importance of being a voter. I think that the election is all about the voter; his or her ability to make the right choices through the ballot.
“I am also convinced that the days of neglecting the voter are gone. The voter holds the key to the success of any election in any part of the world and the Nigerian situation is not an exception.
“Nigerians are now wiser and more enlightened to vote for candidates of their choice,” Eneh added.
The crucial role of the voter in elections has, however, elicited the growing concern of organisations and experts.
For instance, NOA is one of the organisations that are practically involved in efforts to mobilise the Nigerian electorate to partake in elections.
Mr Oliver Wolugbom, the Director of NOA in Rivers State said: “We have carried out series of workshops, aimed at sensitising the citizens to the importance of the coming elections.
“And one of our areas of emphasis is the importance of the voter in the election. First, we have encouraged the people to collect their Permanent Voter Cards to enable them to vote in the elections.
“We also advised voters not to sell their cards to anybody, no matter the enticement because the voter card remains the voter’s power. With the card, the voter plays an all-important role in choosing candidates on election days,” he said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Dr Ukoha Ukiwo of the Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Port Harcourt, underscored the importance of the voter in a country’s electoral processes.
“In the democratic process, the voter is the major decider; the major decision-maker as far as an election is concerned.
“The political parties present their manifestoes, the alternative policies that they want to sell to the public, while the voters decide on what they consider as the best of the different menu presented by various political actors.
“The voter is really at the centre of an election,” he said.
Ukiwo, however, noted that over the years, the presence of a dominant party and an unenlightened electorate in Nigeria had somewhat reduced the power of the voter because there were no pragmatic alternatives.
He stressed that the 2015 election had presented a whole new ballgame and a different scenario altogether.
“For the first time in our recent history, we have a contest between political parties that are equally strong.
“We have a situation where the voter has a choice of choosing between two strong political parties.
“The voting population can vote and their votes will count; this has compelled the parties to devise novel ways of mobilising the electorate in their compelling efforts to win the election,” Ukiwo said.
Mr Ajomiwe Ezuma, a Port-Harcourt based historian, who agreed with Ukiwo’s viewpoint, stressed that the voter would play a more decisive role in the outcome of the 2015 polls.
“In the long run, the voter decides who will win the election.
“Given the political scenario in the country, the ultimate decider of the election will be the voter.
“Although, you cannot rule out voter apathy in some areas but majority of the voters believe that this time around, their votes will count and this has remained sacrosanct in their minds.
“Nigerians are now wiser and more enlightened on how to make their choices on election days.
“The citizens are now well-positioned to vote, based on the presentations made by the parties and to some extent, the personalities involved. It will be quite interesting to see how events unfold during the coming election,” he said.
On their part, the political parties now appear to be increasingly aware of the unique position of the voter in the electoral scheme of things.
Mrs Ibim Semenitari, the Director of Information of the “Greater Together Campaign Organisation’’, the campaign organisation of Dr Dakuku Peterside, APC governorship candidate in Rivers, said that their campaign was people-centred and issue-based.
“We believe the people of Rivers State deserve to get the best and that is why our programme and manifesto are people-oriented and issue-based.
“The Greater Together Campaign Organisation has been meticulous; we have always emphasised that our campaign is primarily issue-based and aimed at carrying the people along,” she said.
Similarly, Mr Opunabo Inko-Tariah, the Secretary of Media and Publicity Committee, PDP Governorship Campaign Organisation in Rivers, said that the party had a strong belief in the power of the people.
“The people matter most and that is why we habitually place emphasis on the power of the people. Power belongs to the people and voters play a crucial role on election days,” he said.
Tonye Princewill, the Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Rivers, said that the voter was the ultimate decider of any democratic election.
“I have been undertaking a house-to-house campaign to talk directly to the voters. This method will surely pay off because I meet the people one-on-one and discuss common problems and issues with them.
“The voter is a very important person when it comes to elections and it is very important for a candidate to talk directly to that voter,” he said.
Ukiwo, nonetheless, expressed the hope that the 2015 election would be a model among all Nigerian elections.
“Given all arrangements made to ensure the success of the election, Nigerians will respond positively and indeed, no one will be able to take the voter for granted,” he said.
All in all, analysts insist that the role of the voter in the success of 2015 elections is very crucial.
They also say that the elections may not witness much voter apathy, as many Nigerians are quite eager to participate in the electoral process.

Mike Mbonye

Voters at a polling unit