Integrity pillars of 2023 general election

 

It’s 72 hours to the seventh consecutive general election in this Fourth Republic which started in 1999. By this election, Nigeria is also celebrating a centenary of electoral democracy. Recall that election was first held for political offices in the country (in Lagos and Calabar) in 1923, after the enactment of the Sir Hugh Clifford Constitution of 1922. Expectations are high that the forthcoming election shall be like none before. As of today, political pundits are talking of three horse presidential race with no certainty on who will likely be the country’s next president after the incumbent. Many are saying it is too close to call and that the presidential race may go into the second round for the first time.

The integrity of the 2023 general elections is important because that is what will confer legitimacy on the winners. We once had deeply flawed elections in 2007 that were described as being below not only global standard but also regional standard.

The winner of that presidential election, Umaru Yar’Adua openly admitted to a tainted victory so much so that within three months of his inauguration, in August 2007, he decided on a comprehensive electoral reform by setting up Justice Muhammad Uwais Electoral Reform Committee. It is this committee which submitted its report in December 2008 that produced the many executive bills which were amended to produce the 2010 Electoral Act and more importantly the 2010 constitutional alterations which majorly was on electoral reforms.

Some of the major constitutional alterations which took place in 2010 include the financial autonomy for the Independent National Electoral Commission by putting the commission on First Line Charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the federation, the lowering of minimum age for INEC chairman from 50 to 40 and those of national commissioners from 40 to 35 years. The Resident Electoral Commissioners who were hitherto not confirmed by the Senate but appointed by the president were now made to pass through Senate screening and confirmation. The 2010 constitutional amendment also removed INEC members from being card carrying members of political parties.  Furthermore, the number of Election Petition Tribunal Judges was reduced from five to three while governorship election petition which hitherto ends at the Court of Appeal now terminates at the Supreme Court.

Who are the integrity pillars of the forthcoming elections and what roles are they going to play? They are INEC poll workers, polling agents, security agents, accredited observers, accredited journalists and the judiciary. The credibility of the looming election depends heavily on the integrity of the poll workers who are going to conduct the elections. The estimated 1.4 million of them who will be deployed as supervisory presiding officers, presiding officers, assistant presiding officers I, II, and III, collation and returning officers, have to play by the rule otherwise things can go awry. Those who will accredit voters should not bypass the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System device meant to ensure that no impersonator is allowed to vote.

The presiding officer must stamp and sign behind the ballot papers so as not to invalidate the choice of the voter, he or she must not manipulate the polling unit result and due process should be followed through. Collation and returning officers too should be painstaking in their work and ensure that they do not make the wrong declaration. Luckily, unlike in the past when the returning officer’s declaration can only be reversed at the court, Section 65(1)(c) of the Electoral Act 2022 has now given INEC as a commission power to review wrong declarations.

Another critical integrity pillar of the elections is the polling agents whose powers have been expanded by Electoral Act 2022. After appointing the polling agents in accordance with the provision of Section 43(1) of the Electoral Act, it behooves political parties and the candidates to build the capacities of these PAs on their roles and responsibilities.  The polling agents, otherwise known as party agents, have enormous powers to follow through the distribution of election materials and personnel, observation of the voting process (Accreditation, voting, sorting, counting and announcement of election results) as well as the watching of the collation process.

Section 41(3) of the Electoral Act 2022 says, “The polling agents shall be entitled to be present at the distribution of the election materials, electronic voting machine and voting devices from the office to the polling booth.”  Sub. (4) says “Polling agents who are in attendance at a polling unit, may be entitled, before the commencement of the election, to have originals of electoral materials to be used by the commission for the election inspected, and this process may be recorded as evidence in writing, on video or by other means by any Polling agent, accredited observer or official of the commission.” Subsection (5) says “A polling agent who is in attendance at a polling unit may observe originals of the electoral materials and this may be recorded as evidence.”

Section 48 of the Act says, “A candidate or a polling agent may challenge the right of a person to vote on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are provided for in this Act.”

According to Section 57(1), a polling agent can challenge an underage voter or impersonator.  Section 60(3) says polling agent and police shall be given an official copy of PU result.  Section 61 of the Act says, “A candidate or a polling agent may, where present at a polling unit when counting of votes is completed by the presiding officer, demand to have the votes recounted provided that the presiding officer shall cause the votes to be so recounted only once.” It is heart-warming that at least four out of the 18 political parties have shown the seriousness they attach to the forthcoming elections by wanting to deploy polling agents to most if not all the 176,606 polling units where elections will hold on Saturday.

According to the breakdown published by INEC on Monday, February 20, 2023, a total of 1,574,301 polling agents will be deployed by the 18 registered parties contesting the elections. Of this number, the ruling All Progressives Congress is deploying 176,223 PAs; Labour Party is deploying 134,874; New Nigeria Peoples Party is deploying 176,200 while the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, is deploying 176,588. What these figures show is that none of the 18 political parties is having 100 percent polling units’ coverage.

Other integrity pillar of the election is the security agents. The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, last week said 404,106 personnel from police and other security agencies will be deployed for the conduct of the February 25 and March 11 elections to ensure the smooth conduct of the exercise. The IG was quoted as saying that, “Nigeria police will deploy 310,973 personnel for the elections’ security operations. This will comprise conventional policemen, mobile policemen, special counter terrorism unit, special forces, intelligence response team and other sections of the police.”

He further said, “The manpower requirement for this exercise will be complemented by the military and other security agencies. In this regard, aside the military and the DSS, other security agencies will contribute a total of 93,495 personnel for the election security operations. These include the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps which will deploy, through the police, 51,000 personnel; the Federal Road Safety Corps, 21,000; Nigerian Correctional Service 11,336; the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, 9,447 and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, 350.”

These personnel are enjoined to be professional in their conduct. They should not aid or abet rigging and should arrest promptly those who may want to induce voters or undermine the electoral process. Invariably, they should serve with integrity.

Accredited journalists and observers who will be reporting on the elections should eschew hate speech and fake news. They need to engage in conflict sensitive reportage and be professional in their conduct. Electorate nay citizens will be looking forward to them for authentic information about the election and that is what they should provide. The judiciary in the course of electoral dispute resolution should do substantial justice and stop giving judgment based on technicalities.