INEC And Rectitude In The Electoral System

The posture of the electoral system and the umpire was put on the spot recently when former President Goodluck Jonathan advocated for a bold electoral umpire if Nigeria was to have credible elections.
Jonathan, who spoke at the recent YIAGA Africa Reflection Conference on Democratic Elections in West Africa held in Abuja, said it would be better for the chairman and other officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to resign rather than yield to pressure to manipulate elections.
He further asserted that the nation’s electoral system will continue to grapple with credibility crisis until there are men of integrity in INEC, who will rather resign than succumb to pressure to rig polls.

As a former president who won and lost a presidential election – the first Nigerian incumbent to lose an election he is in a position to know.

Nevertheless, his assertion rings true. Such righteous defiance and sacrifice is essential in a sane society.
In another event, former governor of Imo State Achike Udenwa said any politician with the right amount of money can buy his/her way and win elections in Nigeria.

The ex-governor, who featured on Edmund Obilo’s State Affairs show, a political podcast, said Nigeria is in a situation where rich politicians can buy the INEC, the police, and the army to win elections.
Again, Udenwa, a former governor who won election twice, and an active participant in a ruling and subsequently opposition party, knows what he is talking about.

However, what Jonathan and Udenwa have said with regards to the electoral system isn’t strange. It’s not a new gospel. Since 1999, we have seen the quality of our elections, rise and fall and fall even more.
Series of reforms have been introduced and technologies have been adopted. But the right blend that makes for a rich dose of people’s confidence in the electoral system is yet to be realised.

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And it is worse at the state levels, where state governors’ grip, regardless of political party, continues to tighten on the necks of state electoral bodies, choking whatever is left of basic electoral principles.

At the national level, there was also a sense of executive chokehold until Jonathan happened in 2015. His relinquishing office was meant to set a precedence for how elections should be.

Although a lot has been said about that experience, it bears remembering that pressure was mounted on him to change the then INEC chairman on ground of alleged connivance with the former opposition party leaders.

So, we do agree that if anyone should speak about the independence of INEC, it deservedly should be Jonathan. He earned the right at a huge cost. Under his watch as president, radical electoral innovations were introduced. Even though some of his supporters kicked against them, the president insisted on allowing the electoral commission to function independently.

Sadly, the expectations of improved elections after 2015 experience are yet to be met.
That our political class needs a critical behavioural adjustment is stating the obvious. With the current mindset, it would be tough to have the implementation of most well-intended reforms.

As the cost of party tickets rises beyond the reach of decent and well-intended aspirants, only those who intend to pillage the commonwealth would take the huge financial investment in seeking political office.

This has been the case of the political class, one which seeks self-preservation through undermining state institutions while embarking on massive primitive accumulation of wealth. This is the DNA that defines the electoral system.

Nevertheless, the call for a bold INEC can never be more true, expedient and essential – an electoral umpire, led by brave, patriotic individuals, who will stand their ground and not be swayed by the excesses of the political class.

Some electoral officials distinguished themselves in this political dispensation but they are few and far between. It is sad that some were victimised for standing for the truth, a reality that discourages such daring acts of patriotism. It bears saying that persons who decide to risk all, even their lives and those of their loved ones, are protected by the system.

No society prospers this way. Impunity must never go unchecked just as lawbreakers must not walk free. In the same manner, those who display acts of patriotism must be recognised and celebrated as pillars of the society.

Nevertheless, a key aspect of having a bold INEC is the full adoption of the Justice Uwais Report, especially the appointment of INEC chairman.

Although the report is yet to be implemented including the first line charge on the Consolidated Revenue of the Federation for the commission, the transfer of power to appoint INEC board to the National Judicial Council (NJC) has remained a no go area.

We do not pretend that the transfer of such powers from the president will solve the problem, knowing how power-crazy political elite are when it comes to undermining the system.

However, we believe that this recommendation is worth implementing as part of measures to empower this critical institution to be non-partisan in words and actions.