After a thorough review of the 2023 election, the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA) have revisited the call for the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
They however commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders for improvements witnessed in the just concluded elections.
NPSA stated this at the end of its two-day meeting which took place in Abuja during the weekend.
A political scientist, former NPSA President, Professor Sam Egwu who commended INEC for laudable improvement and adoption of technology called for the unbundled of the electoral umpire.
He stated “And that is why today I am not surprised that INEC itself believes that if we want to make further progress we need to return to Justice Uwais and many of the recommendations that he put forward.
“And one of them which rings a bell up to today is the need to unbundle INEC for a country of this size, magnitude of demographic, and all the levels of difference you have to deal with. Why can’t you have a slim organization that devotes a substantial amount of its time to conducting the election, harvesting all national energies and engaging stakeholders to do so.
“While some important aspects that can derail INEC focus can be handed over to other bodies. This country needs a commission dedicated to electoral offenses. We need another body, for example, that can handle party registration and all the governance of political parties. Because the strength of any democracy is a reflection of the strength of the party system.
The health of any democracy is a reflection of the health of that party system”.
Explaining the areas of improvement, he said “I think the first thing to draw attention to is that we are discussing elections. We are discussing democracy. These are not low-hanging fruits. They are in the long haul. So when we notice improvements, we benchmark the progress we have made since 1999. But there has been great improvement from 2011 and all Nigerians will agree.”
He added that “One, in terms of the outcome of the election approximating the will of the people. You cannot have a perfect election, the standard language is that an election should approximate the will of the people.
“We have also increased acceptance of the outcome, and in many instances losers, admitting they have lost and congratulating the winners. Then at some point also we have seen a remarkable and dramatic decrease in the number of litigations that have come out of elections,” NPSA’s former president added.
The political scientist also pointed out that all the problems of democracy cannot be fixed in one electoral cycle and described INEC as a responsive commission that takes seriously public criticism on board.
NPSA President, Professor Hassan Saliu who read the communique on behalf of the group said Citizens’ poor understanding knowledge of the electoral process, the bad attitudes of politicians that is the political class and political party toward the electioneering process, manipulation of party primary, internal democracy and marginalization of minority interest are some challenges observed by the group.
As ways to improve the electoral process, NPSA identified electoral system reform, citizens’ engagement, and participation reform, and political party and party system reform. Lastly INEC and election management reform.
He said “One of the recommendations that we have made is that registration for voting should be merged with civic registration and a single identity card issued.
“These cards should be used for voting. In fact, PVCs are not needed for voting and the said elimination will save the country up to 10 billion naira”.
On Citizens’ engagement and participation reform, NPSA President explained that the “Current thread in democratic practices worldwide further draw attention to citizenship and democratization. The value of citizens’ participation and the existence of a vibrant civil society in the process and outcome of a democratic transition cannot be overemphasized. Though the active involvement of citizens in the electoral process is desirable for an enduring democratic practice that promotes and supports sustainable development.
“However this depends on the quality of citizen engagement and political, socio-economic environment in the country that support or constrain citizen actions, he stated.
He continued “One of the recommendations we have made is that future electoral reforms should target an increase in citizen empowerment and participation in the electoral process about underscoring the importance of knowledge, production, and adequate communication and information dissemination to the public.
“On political party and party system reform, the group recommended that parties must comply with their party ideology, guidelines, and principles and also shun violence, vote buying, and vote suppression.
“Political parties should support party primary to include women, youth, and people with disability and inculcate the spirit of internal democracy”.
On INEC and electoral reform they recommended that “more rigorous process in the appointment of INEC key officers to ensure that there is no political interference, introduced background check, CSO scrutiny checklists and guideline have clear criteria for appointment. People with proven competencies deserve to be appointed to INEC. ensure that the process excluded card-carrying members of parties insist on people with proven character, competent track record capacity for an organization”.
