Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for far-reaching electoral and judicial reforms to make the ongoing continuous voters registration (CVR) exercise meaningful.
The former Vice President spoke against the backdrop of the ongoing CVR exercise, which he described as commendable and indicative of Nigerians’ commitment to taking their destinies into their own hands when choosing their leaders in the next election cycle.
However, he said it is not enough to demand that eligible voters register for their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
Atiku said it is pertinent to undertake far-reaching electoral and judicial reforms to ensure electoral integrity, strengthen public confidence, and promote judicial independence.
“Over time, the quality of our elections has continued to deteriorate, with voter turnout at an all-time low during the 2023 elections. Of the total 93.47 million registered voters, only 24.9 million persons voted in the last presidential and National Assembly elections. This represents a meagre 26.72 per cent voter turnout, the lowest since the return to democracy in 1999.
“Something needs to be done to check this slide if citizens continue to have an appetite for the democratic processes and the prospects they hold. The issues of BVAS, electronic transmission, and all other associated problems need to be addressed to the extent that they’re constitutionally provided for, so as not to leave it to the whims and caprices of judges.
“As Prof. Chidi Odinkalu warned in his book, ‘The Selectorate: When Judges Topple The People,’ Judges, once constrained arbiters of electoral disputes, have become increasingly unconstrained in determining who holds power — shifting legitimacy from voters to the courts. In some cases, this influence has extended beyond the courtroom, creating a system where a small, connected elite decides leadership under the cover of legal process.”
Atiku said the envisaged electoral and judicial reforms would give the people, not a conclave of interested parties, the power to choose their leaders.
The former Vice President said there should be an amendment in the 2022 Electoral Act, providing for: First, mandatory use of BVAS for accreditation of voters and upload of election results from all the polling units and collation centres across Nigeria without any provision for discretion to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for manual accreditation of voters.
“Second, election results must be transmitted electronically from the polling units to the iREV without any provision for the Independent National Electoral Commission to exercise discretion regarding manual transmission.
“Third, collation of results at the Ward Collation Centres based on the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the polling units without any provision for manual collation of results at the Ward Centres.
Fourth, results are collated at the local government or area council collaboration centres based on the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the ward collaboration centres without any provision for manual collation of results at the local government or area council centres.
“Fifth, collation of results at the State Collation Centres based on the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the Local Government Collation Centres without any provision for manual collation of results at the State Collation Centre.
Sixth, results are collated at the National Collation Centre based on the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the State Collation Centres, without any provision for manual collation of results at the National Collation Centre.
“Seventh, at no point shall manual accreditation of voters, transmission of results, and collation of results be allowed.
“Eight, the position of the Chairman of INEC, Resident Electoral Commissioners, and the National Electoral Commissioners shall be subjected to a democratic voting by the people.
“Ninth, INEC will prove substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Constitution in the conduct of the election in an election petition and not the petitioner,” he said.
