There are fears that the National Assembly may not attend to most of the 142 electoral reform proposals submitted to it by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) before the commencement of the 2027 general election. Since the reform proposals will be included in the Electoral Act as part of measures to ensure transparent elections in the country, the apparent delay by the lawmakers is unnecessary and unacceptable.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, recently urged the lawmakers to expedite action on the electoral framework so that the commission will have enough time for its implementation. The INEC boss made the call at the retreat of the Senate and the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Electoral Matters and INEC on the ‘Review of the Electoral Framework’ in Lagos, recently.
Some of the electoral reform proposals include the introduction for early or special voting to accommodate eligible voters in essential services, election personnel, voters under incarceration and diaspora voting. The rest are the establishment of the Electoral Offences Commission and a Political party Regulatory Agency and others.
Considering that the 2027 general election is fast approaching, we urge the lawmakers to expedite action on the amendment of the electoral laws. We want laws that will make the conduct of the 2027 elections to be free, fair and transparent. Let the transmission of election results be done electronically. INEC should deploy adequate technology to improve on its elections and their integrity. We are tired of technical glitches that always mar the conduct of our elections.
Beyond the amendment of the electoral laws, Nigerians want an unbiased umpire who would patriotically conduct a free and fair election. Nigerians want the electoral outcome to reflect their wishes and choices. They also want their votes to count. They are tired of the courts deciding the winners of most elections in the country.
Without credible and patriotic electoral officers, no amount of amendment of the electoral laws will give Nigerians a transparent poll. Hardly is there any election circle that Nigerians are not inundated with electoral reforms. From past experiences and with the country’s documented electoral challenges, the problem is not with electoral reforms per se but their implementation. What is urgently needed is a free and fair election, without which electoral reforms would be ineffectual.
Therefore, INEC should be concerned more with how to deliver a free and fair election in the country, than embarking on electoral reforms every election cycle. With our experiences in the 2023 election, it is safe to say that electoral reforms have not really impacted so much the outcome of our polls.
Despite electoral reforms, our elections have been trailed by massive rigging, thuggery and manipulation of election results. Vote-buying has not been significantly curbed as well as electoral violence, voter intimidation and suppression. Given all the reported cases of alteration of election results, rigging, intimidation and all manner of unwholesome practices, the public has lost confidence in INEC.
What the electoral umpire should be concerned with at the moment is to win the confidence of the people by outlining protocols and procedures for the conduct of free and fair elections across the country. Although electoral reforms are good, it is counterproductive when these reforms and laws are not implemented. It vitiates the electoral process and undermines the democratic culture. Before the 2023 elections, INEC categorically promised to make use of iREV but reneged on it to the disappointment of millions of Nigerians.
It is worth stating that conducting a free and fair election goes beyond electoral reforms. It primarily involves accountability to the people. While electoral reforms are desirable, INEC should concern itself with organising a free and fair election in 2027.
Nigeria’s democratic journey has not been smooth sailing, although the country has made modest progress along the way. The democratic well-being of any country hugely relies on the electoral umpire, which has the responsibility to uphold the collective decision of the people at the polls. Democracy is threatened when the electoral umpire is biased and unable to live by the tenets of its mandate.
INEC must go beyond vocalizing its intentions towards the conduct of elections. It must walk the talk and prove to Nigerians that they can conduct transparent elections in Nigeria. To this end, Yakubu Mahmood and his team must retool their operations, train and retrain their personnel for the credible conduct of elections.