Barely 72 hours earlier than the governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states, many Nigerians have referred to as on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to use the forthcoming low season polls as a chance to handle the confidence deficit within the nation’s electoral course of.
These calls got here amid divided opinions and controversies that adopted the result of the 2023 common elections.
Media Talk Africa reported that the alleged non-compliance with the 2022 electoral regulation by INEC was one of many grounds on which the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and that of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, challenged the declaration of President Bola Tinubu because the winner of the February 25 presidential election.
Although Atiku and Obi misplaced their petitions on the Presidential Election Petition Court (PEPC) and the Supreme Court, respectively, they argued that INEC didn’t comply with the provisions of the 2022 electoral act and its personal guidelines in conducting the election.
They insisted that INEC breached its rules and tips by not prescribing and deploying technological gadgets for voter accreditation, verification, continuation, and authentication as required.
The declare has since been dismissed by the PEPC and the Supreme Court.
However, the Supreme Court notably acknowledged that the non-functioning of the Result Viewing (IReV) portal of the Electoral Commission might scale back the confidence of the voting public within the electoral course of.
“Truth must be told, the non-functioning of the IReV may also reduce the confidence of the voting public in the electoral process,” Justice John Okoro mentioned whereas delivering the lead judgment within the attraction by the PDP presidential candidate Atiku.
Last month, when it was rumoured that INEC deliberate to manually transmit the outcomes of the forthcoming November 11 Bayelsa governorship election, many Nigerians described it as a severe setback.
However, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mahmood Yakubu, denied the rumours that the outcomes of the November 11 off-cycle elections shall be transmitted manually.
Yakubu mentioned accreditation for the election shall be executed utilizing the BVAS machine earlier than and after voting, confirming it might be used to snap and add the outcomes on the INEC Election Result Viewing portal.
“Please disregard whatever anyone has said about the transmission of results,” he mentioned.
Yakubu has additionally charged employees of the fee to be non-partisan throughout the November 11 governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi State. The INEC boss urged INEC staffers to preserve their integrity throughout the Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi governorship elections.
He spoke when he visited some INEC places of work to assess preparations for the Nov. 11 off-cycle governorship elections within the states.
Yakubu mentioned INEC was dedicated to credible elections within the states.
“INEC is not a political party and does not have a candidate in the November 11 governorship election. All we are going to do is to ensure that the people of Bayelsa and Imo States choose whoever they want to be their governors, and our responsibility is to protect the people’s choice,” Yakubu mentioned.
Meanwhile, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC, Yabagi Sani, has suggested the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, to use the forthcoming low season governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states as a chance to handle the confidence deficit within the nation’s electoral course of.
Sani additionally referred to as on INEC to proceed to attraction to safety businesses deployed for elections to insulate themselves from the method and keep away from temptations of monetary inducements from politicians.
Also, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has warned that the credibility of the off-cycle elections in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa States was in danger with out utilizing IReV and BVAS.
HURIWA expressed unhappiness that the National Assembly has not deemed it mandatory to speedily amend the extant electoral act to make it obligatory for digital transmission of outcomes from polling items to develop into legalized.
HURIWA claimed that the electoral physique has executed nothing substantial to instill belief and achieve the confidence of voters in these three states on their resolve to be truthful, accountable, and clear.
“We have watched with unfathomable amazement the attempt by the INEC to once more hoodwink Nigerian voters in Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa States into believing their propaganda that all the glitches experienced during the general elections of February 2023 had been taken care of.”
The group, nonetheless, dismissed INEC’s re-assurance, saying: “INEC had told Nigerians that it was committed to the deployment of the bimodal voter registration system (BVAS) and IReV for the 2023 election and to transmit the results of all elections electronically but failed to fulfill this promise.”
Speaking to Media Talk Africa in an interview, a media and communication scholar at Peaceland University, Enugu, Nduka Odo, urged INEC to put its home so as earlier than going into the elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi.
According to him, “If they (INEC) bring out guidelines on voting and transmission and abide by it, it’ll help them regain the trust of Nigerians.”
Odo maintained that INEC ought to cease promising what it’s not prepared and prepared to ship, as it would lead to Nigerians dropping belief within the fee below such circumstances.
He mentioned: “When INEC collected billions of naira to fund the use of ICTs in the electoral system, Nigerians were skeptical, but we hoped for the prospect. INEC told Nigerians that the introduction of IREV would sanitise the process and eliminate electoral malpractice. We believed them.
“You know they told us IREV and electronic transmission work as ‘e dey play, e dey show’.
“But in the heat of voting, the ICTs mysteriously started experiencing hitches. That’s what they told us.
“You know Nigerians have experienced different forms of electoral malpractice. So, when INEC declared they could no longer transmit electronically, Nigerians simply accepted that INEC went the old way, turned off the server to manipulate results. You don’t blame Nigerians for experiencing years of similar excuses. It even became more dubious when the hitches only affected the presidential election.
“If you were a Nigerian, wouldn’t you lose trust in INEC under such circumstances?
“Up till today, all the results are yet to be uploaded to the IREV. And a large number of result sheets are blurred.
“That’s suspicious and that’s the root of the disappointment people feel.
“My advice to INEC is to first of all stop promising what they are not willing and ready to deliver. Technology helps to make work efficient. Secondly, INEC needs to put its house in order before going into the elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi.
“Let there be no more hitches. It’s even worse declaring hitches in the middle of the elections. Quality assurance means that they pre-test their machines. If it’s faulty, the suppliers of such machines should be made to pay. We can’t afford to keep going back and forth. Such leads to stagnation.
“If they bring out guidelines on voting and transmission, and abide by it, it’ll help them regain the trust of Nigerians.”
