Azuka Onwuka
The Independent National Electoral Commission took four years to prepare for the 2023 elections, but sadly, when the day eventually came on Saturday, February 25, INEC performed far below expectations. The performance of INEC dampened the morale of the electorate, who had looked forward to being part of a historic election that would project Nigeria as a country to be reckoned with in international circles as an exemplary democracy.
For a people who had lost much hope in the power of the ballot, it took concrete actions from INEC and constitutional amendments to the electoral act to rekindle their interest. First was the conduct of the off-season elections in Edo, Anambra, and Osun, which showed a high degree of transparency. The other reason was the constitutional amendments that only people whose biometrics had been captured during accreditation would vote and only results transmitted electronically from the polling units to INEC server would be admitted. This introduction of technology effectively cut off the chances of tampering with the results.
INEC officials –which included the Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, and his commissioners – continually communicated with the public, giving assurances that this year’s election would be seamless and beyond manipulation. Even when the issue of internet challenge was raised as a possible factor against the election, INEC assured the nation that with or without internet access in a location, results could be uploaded to the result viewing portal. Such results would appear on the server once the network is restored or available.
When people raised fears that the various attacks by arsonists on INEC facilities could have affected the chances of the commission to conduct elections in such areas, INEC insisted that it had backups and replacements for all that was lost to such acts of arson and vandalism. Again, with the redesign of the naira and the scarcity that trailed it weeks before the election, the only challenge INEC raised was the non-availability of cash for paying those who would take care of some logistics. That was quickly addressed by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
However, on election day, reports began to filter in from different parts of Nigeria that even by 12noon and beyond in many polling units, INEC officials had not arrived for an election that was supposed to commence by 8.30am. Interestingly, these included areas that were in the heart of cities and easily accessible by vehicles. There were reports that while voting had commenced, some electoral officials conveying voting materials went to different polling locations in search of their centre. That was an indication that INEC officials did not visit their assigned centres days before the D-Day.
TV stations also showed many of the INEC officials arriving at election venues in rickety commercial vehicles which can easily break down for lack of maintenance. Many arrived their duty posts without basic materials like ink pad for thumbprinting. Some members of the electorate provided such, so as to ensure that there was no delay.
In some states such as Lagos, Rivers, Kogi, Edo, etc, there was voter intimidation and violence. Before the election, some agencies had released the list of states that were projected to be flashpoints. Before the election, the Federal Government deployed the police and the military. The nation was assured that adequate security would be provided for the election. However, this did not stop thugs from besieging different polling centres, attacking voters and destroying votes and other electoral materials. This cannot be blamed on INEC but in some places, INEC’s officials were alleged to have colluded with election disruptors or manipulators.
However, of all these issues, the one that saddened the people the most was the inability to upload the results from the polling units to the INEC server. In different parts of the country, more than six hours after the election was concluded, the results could not be uploaded either online or offline as promised by INEC. Another curious part of this puzzle, which was confirmed by Olu Phillips, a reporter with Channels TV, who covered the election in Lagos, was that the results for the Senate and House of Representatives were able to be uploaded to the server but presidential elections results could not.
Voters waited at different polling centres all through the night for the completion of an election they left for in the morning of February 25. Without the results uploaded right before the voters, one cannot guarantee what will happen the moment they disperse. Like human rights activist, Senator Shehu Sani, said in a tweet on February 26, “In elections, when there is delay, there is magic.”
To further worsen the matter, INEC did not issue any explanation over this big anomaly all through the election day. The people were left in the dark, even though the INEC chairman was periodically briefing the media about the election. With this problem, the people made up their minds that the reason for the difficulty in uploading the results was to give room for manipulation.
Even when the results began to be uploaded, most of them on the INEC portal are so blurred not to be legible. That way, viewers cannot verify if the result sheets uploaded tally with those in their possession. That further looked like an attempt to undermine the transparency of the election by creating loopholes for fraud.
This shoddiness by INEC reared its head during voter registration. Millions of people who wanted to vote could not be registered by INEC. They started the process online and went to INEC registration points repeatedly, but INEC could not register them until the deadline elapsed. When it was time to issue the permanent voter card, many who visited the centres could not find theirs until the deadline elapsed. Curiously, there were reports of PVCs dumped in the gutter, bush, etc.
All this was overlooked with the hope that INEC would get its acts together on election day. But that was not to be.
The danger in INEC’s shoddy conduct of the 2023 presidential elections is that this may discourage those who chose to vote for the first time this year. It took a lot of awareness creation to convince millions of people, especially the youths, to register and vote. Many people had reached the conclusion that votes don’t count in Nigeria.
Given how Nigeria has been tottering on the precipice for years now, it is dangerous to create a sense of distrust for the ballot in Nigerians. Such a scenario will only lead them to resort to self-help.
Also, Africa had looked upon Nigeria to conduct an election that is clean and similar to what is seen in Western countries. Having an election dogged by violence and shoddiness casts an aspersion on Nigeria. The world has believed that elections in Africa are similar to war. Such beliefs help to belittle Nigeria and Africa in the eyes of the world as a disorganised people of no consequence.
It is also sad that all the efforts made by the National Accord for Peace to get the political parties and their candidates to commit to a peaceful election was a waste of time. It is shameful that in 2023, elections are still marred by widespread attack of opponents.
It is said that justice should not just be done but seen to have been done. That is transparency. INEC failed on transparency, failed on organisation, failed on impartiality, failed on logistics, and failed on time management. Despite all the money provided for INEC and the fact that the chairman of INEC was on his second term, INEC did not only disappoint Nigerians; it betrayed Nigeria and Africa at large.
Mr Onwuka is a respected veteran journalist
