With just six days to the November 11 governorship elections in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Nigeria have put certain mechanisms in place to detect and expose electoral fraud.
Relying heavily on the commitment they extracted from the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) on uploading election results on the Result Viewing Portal (IReV), the CSOs have mapped out plans, including advising Nigerians on how to gain access to the results portal, to crosscheck properly whether the election are transparent or not.
Accordingly, they said they were deploying Process and Results Verification (PRV), a device that is capable of detecting fraud as it happened in the last election, to ascertain the transparency of the polls.
The CSOs who are also poised to deploy thousands of election observers in the states for the off-season polls said they would also open a situation room in Abuja to monitor the voting, collation and uploading of election results in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States.
The CSOs had on October 25 met with INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, as part of their quarterly meeting, where the commission assured that it has tested the efficacy of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for both biometric authentication of voters and the upload of results to its IReV.
During the meeting, Yakubu hinted that the commission had accredited 145 organisations deploying 7,896 observers, just as he promised to issue accredited organisations and their observers with identity cards within days.
The INEC chairman also gave details of mock accreditation involving actual voters in designated polling units in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States a few weeks ago.
He said, “By doing so, we tested the efficacy of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for both biometric authentication of voters and the upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).
“Some of you observed the mock accreditation exercise and viewed the results on the IReV portal. We have received no adverse report so far.
“By this, we are encouraged that the test was successful, and we look forward to improved performance of the BVAS in voter accreditation and result upload in the forthcoming Governorship elections and beyond.”
It is the process of uploading results on the portal that the CSOs plan to keep close watch on and are advising Nigerians on how to gain access to the results portal so that they can bear witness for themselves how transparent the elections are conducted.
The CSOs who spoke with LEADERSHIP Sunday are Yiaga Africa, Transparency International (TI), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Transition Monitoring Group (TMG).
Executive director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, said his organisation is deploying over 600 observers in Kogi, Imo and Bayelsa States.
Itodo noted that his organisation is also deploying Process and Results Verification (PRV) for transparency, stating that the device is capable of detecting fraud as it happened in the last election.
“Yes, we are going to be monitoring the IREV. We will have access to it and every Nigerian who wants to monitor the process will have access to the IREV. INEC has published the link for the IREV. People can access the platforms. Everyone can access the platform,” Itodo said.
On plans to ensure transparency in the electoral process, Itodo said they were setting up their standard data centre in Abuja to monitor the election in the three states in addition to their observers that are on ground.
“Yes, we are setting up our data standard data center in Abuja. We have observers in the field. We are deploying over 600 in the three states. We have the Process and Results Verification (PRV) for transparency. This is capable of detecting fraud. It is what we use to monitor fraud in other elections. We are using the PRV to ensure quality of the process as well as accuracy of the results,” Itodo said.
Also speaking, leader of TI, CISLAC and TMG, Awwal Musa Rafsanjani, explained that even though they are deploying observers, it is disheartening to see in circulation a purported memo from an agency of the Imo State government procuring every room in every single hotel in Owerri for the period of the election.
He stated: “What this simply implies is that the state government has effectively barred domestic and foreign observers from visiting Imo ahead of the election. For the sake of democracy in Nigeria, we hope these allegations are not true and that the purported memo is also not true, as this would present a blow to the democratisation process in Nigeria and give others in power the boldness to thwart democratic processes through barbaric acts and practices.
“We urge the state government to immediately debunk this allegation and assure observers of their safety in Owerri and other part of the state. Also, the federal government must investigate this weighty allegation and prevail on the state government to revert to democratic tenets.”
The CSOs also noted the recent supplementary budget passed by the National Assembly, saying the allocation of a whopping ₦18 billion for INEC to facilitate the conduct of Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi elections was completely shocking, as INEC had assured that funds for the off-cycle elections were part of funds received ahead of the general election.
Rafsanjani noted: “To this end, the Commission had since gone ahead to perfect preparations towards the election without any complaints about funding. What part of the election is this supplementary budget of N18 billion looking to cover?
“Nigerians perceive this allocation as very suspicious and fear that it could be allocations to perpetrate malpractices. Hence, the federal government must explain this huge sum to Nigerians and why it is budgeting again for what has already been budgeted”.
On the use of technology in elections, Rafsanjani said the verdict of the Supreme Court on the presidential election was another judicial blow on the use of technology to reform the electoral process in Nigeria.
His words: “The ruling on the use of IReV has empowered manual collation of results which creates room for falsification of results and other forms of malpractices. Even as INEC has given the reassurances on the deployment of IReV for the off-cycle elections, the Supreme Court judgement does not give confidence on technology, as the court should have looked at protecting the greater election credibility in Nigeria.
“Nevertheless, TMG implores INEC to look back at the credibility of the off-cycle elections in Ekiti and Osun states as a basis for improvement ahead of the November 11 election. The Commission should effectively deploy technology to enhance credibility”.
Rafsajani who also expressed dismay over the inability of political parties to provide civic education ahead of the elections in the three states added that the political parties appear to have relegated this important function to the civil society, while they concentrate on perfecting their rigging mechanisms.
“This also tells a lot about how political parties perceive citizens in Nigeria, and that they are more concerned about winning at all costs than engaging in clean citizens-oriented campaigns,” Rafanjani stated, adding that they have concluded plans to deploy observers across all the local government areas of the three states.
He continued: “The observers are currently undergoing training and will be deployed to observe and report through a digital on-the-spot reporting tool which has been developed. At the same time, a Central Data Centre will also be situated in Abuja with trained Data Clerks to collate and analyse reports from the field.
“We call on the voting populace of Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa to troop out in their numbers to cast their votes for their preferred candidates. Citizens must understand that democracy is about citizens’ participation and elections present the best opportunity for citizens to express their will and power. Citizens’ participation, especially in large numbers, also reduces manipulation opportunities for the political actors.
“Hence, citizens should desist from aiding and abetting malpractices, shun vote trading and keep an eagle eye on their votes. We wish Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States free, fair, transparent, violent-free and credible elections.”
