Pitfalls INEC must avoid today

The stage is set for the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections today. Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU highlights the mistakes the electoral agency must avoid during the exercise.

WILL the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) get it right today? Many Nigerians were taken aback when its chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, who had heightened public expectation, suddenly postponed the exercise last week, five hours to the polls. During the week, he has been bashed by criticisms by aggrieved stakeholders. Four days ago, he assured anxious Nigerians that the operational challenges that warranted the postponement have been resolved. Will the electoral agency avoid previous mistakes and pitfalls that threatened the earlier dates? Will INEC redeem its image today? To observers, the perception about INEC has been altered. The poll is holding in an atmosphere of mutual suspicion and distrust. Tempers rose, following the postponement. There have been uproars, criticisms and counter-criticisms and blame games.

The general impression was that INEC has been completely compromised by the opposition. The chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, alleged that the umpire had taken sides by allegedly leaking the postponement to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leaders, even before President Muhammadu Buhari was informed. He complained that the polls had been rigged, ahead of the exercise. Therefore, the postponement was a blessing in disguise for the country. The president was alarmed at the report that got to his table. Burning with patriotic anger, he read the riot act, warning that ballot snatching would attract stiff penalty. His admonition was twisted by the opposition as a direction on ‘shoot at sight.’ But, many have pointed out that ballot snatching is just an element of rigging, stressing that more policing is required during the collation of results. Security agencies have reinforced the presidential directive by asking people to shun unruly behaviours at polling booths or risk sanction.

Transparent election is the collective responsibility of all stakeholders, including party leaders, flag bearers, electoral officers, security agencies and voters. But, INEC has a duty to organise the elections without compromising ethics. The onus is on the electoral body to refrain from sacrificing the rules of the game and dancing to the tune of the highest bidder. To do the job, the agency was not starved of funds. But, last week’s incompetence had compounded the electoral economy at the expense of the nation. Unlike 2015, security chiefs did not cite any emergency challenge that could necessitate a shift. Many had travelled home for the exercise. Observers had started turning in pre-election reports. During the week, they were asking for the extension of their visa permits. APC candidate President Buhari had gone to his native Daura.

The journey was in vain. His PDP challenger, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, was also in Adamawa State. It was a day of dreaming. Yakubu, the pilot of the electoral ship of state, said it was sailing to a safe harbour. He was over-confident. The nation took him for his word. Suddenly, the wind started blowing. It was evident that he did not anticipate the turbulence; a failure of scenario building. Electoral pirates have been on the prowl in Anambra and Abia states. Thugs instigated by some political actors invaded INEC offices, burning card readers and creating fresh hurdles for the agency. Some clever and INEC commissioners allegedly told their friends in the opposition party that the polls were not realistic. But, a distressed Yakubu, the captain of the ship, thought that he and the crew could still manage to land safely. The harbour was not far. But, the strength of the ship had dwindled.

Enveloped in curious optimism and hope, the chairman appeared unperturbed. But, five hours to the polls, reality dawned on him that INEC’s capability to conduct a hitch-free exercise had diminished. The country was enveloped in confusion and anxiety. His explanations fell on deaf ears. It was difficult to rationalise the disappointment and national embarrassment. Explaining his predicament to a bewildered nation, Yakubu attributed the poor performance to logistic problems: 4,695 smart card readers burnt in one state, aircraft conveying sensitive materials could not land in Enugu, capital of Enugu State, due to bad weather; fire outbreaks had burned materials in Anambra, Abia and Plateau states; vehicle loading materials from Taraba State had broken down, and result sheets meant for Edo were shopped to Rivers State. Put succinctly, INEC was overwhelmed by the constraints. Damage control became impossible. After planning for four years, INEC failed and asked Nigerians to take solace in a week of supplementary planning.

Elections are critical to democratic growth and political stability. They are the only methods for leadership recruitment. But, since pre-independence, polls have been a sort of nightmare. The hiccups have been attributed to technical and human errors. The reasons,according to observers, are not far-fetched. The nature of periodic competition often induces protracted antagonism. That explains why previous electoral battles were fought in an atmosphere of strife, rancour and bitterness in the consistently fragile federation. Almost six decades after independence, ethnicity and religion still occupy a central stage during electioneering.

They often displace critical factors, including competence and capacity. Nigeria’s elections are remarkable for the tension they periodically unleash. This because many politicians and other stakeholders perceive election as war. In 1959, Nigeria was engulfed in tension over the acrimony among the three main parties-the Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), Action Group (AG) and National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC). It spilled over to 1962 crisis, which culminated in the declaration of emergency in the wild wild West. In 1964, ceremonial President Nnamidi Azikiwe was reluctant to call Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa to form the government because of allegations of electoral malpractices. The polls were conducted by the veteran teacher, Esua.

In 1965, the monumental electoral fraud during the Western Regional elections led to violence. Many people were killed. Property were destroyed. In1983, old Ondo and Oyo states were in turmoil, following rigging by the notorious National Party of Nigeria (NPN) against the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) during the governorship election. In 2003, former President Olusegun Obasanjo said the election will be a do-ordie affair. It was an understatement. Poll confident Southwest was submerged. Only Lagos State survived the onslaught. In 2007, Maurice Iwu’s INEC built on the sordid record. Losers were declared winners in Ekiti, Ondo and Osun states. The stolen mandates were later retrieved in court. Even, the late President Umaru Yar’Adua acknowledged that he rode on the back of a flawed election to Aso Villa. In 2011, Buhari cried foul, saying that he was shortchanged by INEC. Indeed, 2015 polls were adjudged credible. Thus, Nigeria sought to build on that feat in its thirst for a sane electoral process. Fears were rife that the postponement may dampen public morale, and this may lead to apathy today. Many have even expressed reservations about the prospect of an improvement within a week. Yakubu, who is in the eye of the storm, has, however, reiterated his commitment to a credible process.

But, the gap between expectation and reality last week had ruptured public confidence. The question is: can INEC avert the lapses? Yakubu nearly compounded the anxiety last weekend when he made an attempt to ban campaigns without first consulting his legal department. But, he quickly corrected himself and extended the campaigns. The first litmus test during this electioneering was the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) distribution. During the week, some candidates were still mounting pressures on INEC to consider an extension. Some presidential candidates complained that the critical exercise was bungled. The scenario created a hollow in the INEC’ scorecard. Owing to the mobilisation and enlightenment campaigns by civil society groups and political parties, many people trooped out for the exercise across the federation.

But, the voter cards have remained elusive for many eligible voters. But, it should also be noted that in many states, people refused to collect the cards. INEC was making appeals to them for collection. But, Nigerians, however, heaved a sigh of relief when the INEC chairman said over 84 million PVCs had been distributed. To observers, INEC has not learnt from its past mistakes. In 2011, the commission, led by Prof. Attahiru Jega, had thrown the country into chaos before the exercise was stopped abruptly. Ballot papers were unnecessarily wasted at a huge cost to the country. Midway into the poll, INEC was inundated with complaints across the six geo-political zones that the exercise had failed. At noon, voting had not started in many locations. Anxiety heightened. Voters started protesting the shoddy arrangements in some states. The voter’s registers in some locations were fake. They were not available in some polling units. Observers chided INEC officials for laxity and lack of patriotism. Many officials did not report for electoral duty.

Where electoral officers were available, they were afraid to kick off the accreditation because security agents were absent. The ill-trained ad hoc staff-the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) memberswere confused. Following the cancellation and postponement of the poll, the beleaguered nation was back to square one. However, the rescheduled poll was successful. INEC had opportunities to correct some of these mistakes during the scattered governorship elections in Ondo, Anambra, Ekiti and Osun. In Ondo, Labour Party (LP) governorship candidate Dr. Olusegun Mimiko was robbed at the poll. In Anambra, Peter Obi, the winner, was declared as the loser. In Ekiti, Kayode Fayemi challenged Segun Oni at the tribunal.

In Osun, Rauf Aregbesola battled to reclaim his mandate from Olagunsoye Oyinlola. The common denomination was that they were robbed by PDP candidates. Instructively, the “odd” elections in these were scattered, owing to the mistake of INEC under Prof. Iwu. However, in 2016, INEC conducted a successful election in Ondo. Also, in Ekiti, there was no cause for alarm. Although the recent Osun poll was inconclusive, the supplementary poll that followed completed the process. INEC under Yakubu has recorded significant improvements. Innovations have been introduced to ensure the sanctity of the ballot box. More prospective voters had been registered. There is an interface between INEC and critical stakeholders.

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The commission has also asserted its independence by shunning partiality, unlike when it was an extension of the government in the days of Obasanjo. But, Oshiomhole said that assertion is now debatable. Since prevention is better than cure, analysts believe that a postponed election is better than an inconclusive one. However, today is INEC’s second chance. The onus is on the agency to conduct credible and transparent polls. INEC must be weary of its past mistakes and avoid repeating them. This is necessary to avoid a fresh crisis of integrity. INEC must restore public confidence. Bad eggs should be excluded from today’s exercise. The allegation that some INEC staff are agents of political parties should have been investigated. By now, those culpable should have been asked to step aside.

Result sheets must be available. Any other sheet is counterfeit. The commission will fail the test of credibility, if its officials report late for the assignment at polling units. Not only should the officials report promptly, they should also show up with the required polling materials. Voters will be disillusioned, if they get to the units and there is no electoral officer on ground to attend to them. The ad hoc staff-NYSC membersshould not be subjected to hazards because the country is holding elections. Their welfare should be paramount. The most critical material is the voter register. What is meant for a unit should not be mistakenly taken to another unit. If the names of many voters are omitted from the register, there will be tension on poll day. The implication is that many may be disenfranchised. The early display of the voter register was helpful.

Through the verification, complaints by candidates, parties and voters were tackled and errors corrected by the commission before the poll. Also, the accreditation hurdle is a recurring decimal. Voters usually raise objections to the late accreditation and voting. Accreditation problem is proportional to the demographic distribution of voters. In densely populated polling units, the exercise may not be completed before 2 pm as stipulated by the law. If the electoral officers report late at their duty posts, the challenge may be compounded. The late arrival of polling officers and electoral materials is worrisome. It should be a punishable offence. In 2011, many voters returned home without casting their ballot because their names were not found in the voter register. INEC tried to tackle this problem in 2015. Unscrupulous electoral officers may also give INEC a bad name. In Anambra, Jega was enraged by the unruly behaviour of some polling officers. He had no alternative than to hand them over to the police for interrogation.

Also, after the 2015 polls, Yakubu surrendered erring officials for prosecution. Some of them were convicted. There is the need for the electoral body to study and understand the geography of the electoral constituencies. In Taraba, there are voting areas that cannot be reached on time because of the topology. Transportation is challenging. The coastal communities of Ilaje in Ondo State, Ojo and Eti-Osa in Lagos, and Niger Delta creeks require specific preparations. Helicopters and speed boats may be needed to convey polling officers and materials to designated units.

In Edo State, a drunkard was once hired as a boat driver and there was a fatal accident. Since elections will hold in Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, and persons with disabilities will participate, the special nature of election in these areas should be considered. If elections will hold in flashpoints like the Northeast where the Boko Haram insurgents are on the rampage, there will be need for special security arrangement. Elections have become a burden in Nigeria, owing to the combative nature of gladiators who see elections as do-or-die contests. Thuggery and violence are on the increase. How to police the votes is very important. Sometimes, elections are discredited, although the fault cannot be attributed to INEC. The activities of desperate politicians and the misuse of the police may make the contest a sort of war.

Already, the atmosphere is tense. Security agents should cooperate with INEC officials. Jega had a policing strategy. The INEC boss said that security agents must be in their uniform to avoid the use of thugs who pose as policemen in mufti to intimidate opponents. This policy was sustained in 2015. The method will be good for the rescheduled polls. The greatest challenge is the prevention of rigging by INEC during elections. Electoral fraud, as observed by the president, will expose Nigeria to ridicule in the comity of nations. Thugs and cultists, who are armed with sophisticated weapons beyond the reach of the police, may unleash terror to create panic, molest and scare away voters.

They may want to invade polling booths and snatch ballot boxes. If this happens, electoral credibility will be in doubt. Enough policemen should be deployed by the new Inspector-General of Police Adamu Mohammad. INEC and security agents should not only be on guard, but on the red alert to avoid the floodgate of litigations that trailed the past electoral foul play. Security agents should also show restraint. They should not molest voters. INEC must guard against the penchant for doctoring election results by politicians, unpatriotic security agents and electoral officials.

A credible election is a panacea for violence. In earlier dispensations, rigging provoked popular revolt. There are provisions for constitutional protest against rigging in post-election period. But, litigation is also costly. Yakubu has assured Nigerians that all will be well today. He appeared sober when he owned up to INEC’s shortcomings. He has apologised to the country. He maintained that “the essence of the slight postponement was to enable all the states to have full complement of all the required logistics and back up.” INEC is conducting today’s polls with its almost dented image. The success of the exercise may redeem its battered image. Will INEC live up to expectation?