Electoral Act : Delay By Presidency, INEC Heightens Anxiety Over 2019 Elections

The National Assembly recently passed the fourth version of the
Electoral Act Amendment Bill amending some sections of the Act to
make provision for flexibility and transparency in the forthcoming
elections. However, this amendment, has threw up some issues, which
seem to be threatening the purpose for which the idea of amendment
was conceived.

For instance, despite the legalisation of Smart Card Reader for
voter accreditation, some commentators believe the National
Assembly should have gone a step further by amending Section 13 of
the Electoral Act to enable the electorate exercise their franchise
from any part of the country on Election Day, irrespective of where
they registered. The section stipulates the regulations to guide
voters on transferring their voter’s cards from one polling station
to the other.

The situation is further compounded by the delay by President
Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the bill, weeks after it was passed
by the National Assembly, a development that is heightening anxiety
over the elections.

Also, scanty information about the upcoming 2019 general
elections on the official website of the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) has become a source of concerns to
political watchers.

Specifically, the personal particulars of candidates for the
presidential and National Assembly elections were as at weekend yet
to be uploaded on the website, despite inscription of ‘2019: INEC
publishes Details of Candidates.’ But on logging into it, one
finds, “Error-Page Not Found.”

INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, had at a press briefing
recently urged members of the public to use the opportunity of the
publication of the forms and particulars of the candidates, as
submitted by their respective political parties, to raise claims
and objections. But more than one week after the exercise, the
commission is yet to upload the details.

Nigerians had been yearning for electorate to exercise their
franchise from anywhere they are in the country as it is being
practiced in the Western nations to meet the international best
practices.

The call had become necessary following inability of most voters
to effect transfer for their voters’ cards following change of
place of residence or transfers in work places to other areas or
states as the case may be.

Despite assurances by INEC, most voters have expressed
disappointments in the commission for its inability to facilitate
the transfer option, a development that would save people the cost
of traveling and the risk of unforeseen circumstances during
election period.

Some analysts say that in the 21st century, the nation is more
than ripe enough for its citizens to cast their votes anywhere in
the world, instead of this “archaic” method of voting 58 years
after independence.

Another impediment, however, is the transfer of one voter’s
register from one location to another; a development believed would
be addressed with the full-blown practice of electronic voting
system.

The practice of electronic voting, according to political
watchers, would go a long way to help the nation to put things in
the right perspective and also to achieve its millennium goal.

The National Assembly, in amending the Electoral Act,
specifically took note of the issue of card reader, but despite the
legalisation of Smart Card Reader for voter accreditation, some
political analysts believe that the National Assembly should have
gone a step further by amending Section 13 of the Act to enable the
electorate exercise their franchise from any part of the country on
election day, irrespective of where they registered.

Proffering solution to this development, some stakeholders were
of the opinion that the issue of elections should be taken
gradually, adding that the amendment to the Electoral Act was a
right step in a right direction.

They said that with the amendment, the nation will eventually
get it right in terms of elections in the country in years to come,
adding that it will gradually get to a point where all impediments
would be seamlessly addressed, including elimination of thuggery
from elections as casting vote will be done electronically and not
manually.

With the concern raised by stakeholders on the amendment, even
though President Muhammadu Buhari is yet to assent the Bill, the
Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof.
Mahmood Yakubu, had already dashed the hope of those believing that
electronic voting would be part of 2019 elections, pointing out
that because of time frame, the electronic system would not be used
in the coming general elections.

“We have gone really far with this. If tomorrow the Bill is
assented to, there are provisions that we can immediately implement
but there are provisions that we cannot implement simply because of
time. For instance, full blown electronic voting. It is impossible
within the time frame available.

“We have been working closely with the National Assembly and
many of the new provisions passed in the Bill were actually based
on our recommendations. We prepared ourselves in such a way that in
case some of the provisions become law, we would have no difficulty
in implementing them,” Prof. Yakubu had said.

This pronouncement has put paid to the call for electronic
voting as far as 2019 election is concern. The system, which is
believed would help the transfer of election results from the
polling units, would have, according to political analysts,
addressed rigging and other vices in elections.

Recall that the Senate, during the amendment of the Electoral
Act, empowered INEC to use electronic voting for conduct and
transmission of results in future elections and also legalised the
Card Reader introduced by INEC for voters’ accreditation.

The card reader innovation used by INEC in the 2015 general
election, was legalised by the Act under section 49, which deals
with accreditation of voters, transmission of accreditation data
among others.

Specifically, the Act under Section 49 (2) states: “The
Presiding officer shall use a smart card reader or any other
technological device that may be prescribed by the commission from
time to time for the accreditation of voters, to verify, confirm or
authenticate the genuineness or otherwise of the voter’s card.”

The Senate also approved a provision to enable INEC transmit the
result of elections electronically in an encrypted and secured
manner to prevent hacking.

In the Bill, the electronic voting provisions of the Act is
contained in section 52 (2), which states: “The electoral
commission shall adopt electronic voting in all elections or any
other method of voting as may be determined by the commission from
time to time.”

The section, however, gives INEC discretion to use other methods
of voting if it is impracticable to use e-voting in any
election.

Even though, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki had
expressed optimism during the amendment that the Bill would further
improve the nation’s electoral system and also contribute to good
governance, the INEC boss had stated otherwise, pointing out that
electronic system would not be deployed for 2019 elections.

Saraki had said, “we have touched on new areas, which I believe
will improve the credibility of our elections and by so doing,
definitely improve our democracy and good governance.

“Most important, I think, are some of the new sections we have
added, in the areas of technology, the smart card reader, and
collation, which has been an area of great concern.

“Collation of results after the polling units and some of the
additions we put on the electronic way by which the compilation of
results can be done, I think, will go a long way to reduce some of
the irregularities we have seen before.”

Despite the delay of assent to the electoral act amendment bill,
stakeholders concern is that INEC must deliver credible election
next year.

For instance, Hon. Ayoola Olawale. a chieftain of the African
Democratic Congress (ADC) in Ibadan Southwest local government area
of Oyo state warned that INEC should not use the delay in Electoral
Act amendment as an excuse for failure in the 2019 general
elections.

Hon. Ayoola insisted that Nigerians will not accept any excuse
from INEC, if the electoral body failed to conduct credible
elections next year.

The politician declared that what matters most to Nigerians is
the readiness of INEC to conduct free and fair polls and not full
blown electronic voting.

Comrade Adesina Akinpelu, National Public Relations Officer
(PRO) of the New Era Odua People’s Congress (OPC), expressed
optimism that the existing legal frameworks should guarantee
credible polls next year.

Akinpelu maintained that the problems with our electoral system
have to do with the attitude of the political class, and not with
the Electoral Act.

The New Era OPC urged Nigerians to be ready to resist any
attempt by politicians to capitalise on the noticeable lapses to
rig the 2019 general elections.

Akinpelu also identified poverty as the main weapon the
political class uses to manipulate election in the country.

His words: “What should be the major concerned of well meaning
Nigerians now is how to tackle the evil of vote buying. The
politicians are capitalising on the high level of poverty in the
country to induce voters with money and other material things
during election.”

With the Electoral system being modified by the National
Assembly and INEC, would the nation get it right in years to come?
Would the system address voting for a candidate of choice from
anywhere in the nation or would the electronic system Nigerians are
yearning for be made possible by the power that be, even though it
has been passed by the lawmakers? These and other questions
Nigerians are asking at this point in time.

Culled from IndependentNGR