By Dickson Omobola
Samson Itodo, an election observer and election improvement knowledgeable, is the Govt Director of Yiaga Africa. On this interview monitored on Politics At this time, a Channels TV programme, he spoke on what President Bola Tinubu should do for the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee, INEC, because the tenure of its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, is coming to finish.
Excerpts:
How important would this transition be, not just for INEC however for our elections?
It is vitally important as a result of you’ll have a comparatively new electoral fee that can handle the 2027 elections. You recall a number of weeks in the past, Yiaga Africa launched our standing of electoral integrity report for 2025, and one of many projections that we made was that the 2027 election would more than likely be probably the most compromised and maybe the most costly. One of many causes that we superior was due to this management transition within the Unbiased Nationwide Electoral Fee, INEC.
If it’s not managed fastidiously, if it’s not managed from a statesman perspective, you possibly can in all probability have the following elections jeopardized as a result of residents will not be going to belief INEC. It is vitally important as a result of Professor Mahmood Yakubu has been there for 10 years. His exit will depart a number of vacuum since you ask your self if a brand new chairman is appointed every time he’s, is there ample time for the chairman to settle? If you happen to have a look at what information says, you see the commissioners who’re leaving subsequent yr after which those that are leaving on the eve of the 2027 election. So, to a big extent, it’s fairly important. Don’t forget that the extent of belief of residents within the electoral course of can also be at its lowest ebb. So, that is actually a chance for the president, the Senate and the Nationwide Meeting to rebuild public belief and confidence within the electoral course of.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu will likely be generally known as the person who entrenched the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS and launched the Election Consequence Viewing Portal, IReV. How would you overview his time as INEC chief?
There have been exceptional reforms launched within the electoral course of. So as to add to that, it was underneath these 10 years that for the primary time in our historical past, poll papers and end result sheets had been produced regionally. That occurred within the 2023 elections. Beforehand, we’ve at all times printed our poll papers and end result sheets outdoors the nation. This time, we printed them regionally and that’s one thing we must always encourage. Nations like South Africa, as an illustration print 100 per cent of their supplies. Actually, they fund their elections 100 per cent with out taking cash from anyone, however if you have a look at all these reforms that had been launched, public belief within the electoral course of has truly dampened due to points round electoral fraud. You additionally see sabotage by different establishments inside the election governance structure, however the truth that we are literally at a degree the place residents belief within the electoral course of, that’s one thing that offers a supply of concern.
There are some reforms that he (Yakubu) launched that should be retained just like the applied sciences that you just talked about. Sadly, these identical applied sciences launched as recreation changers are the identical instruments that are actually getting used to subvert the method. Do you agree that as we take into consideration retaining these instruments, the following INEC boss ought to topic issues just like the BVAS and IReV to impartial audits?
What politicians have accomplished, coupled with complicit INEC officers, is to leverage the identical applied sciences to undermine the integrity of the method. There have been additionally a number of missed alternatives. We hope that the following INEC would be taught from this specifically. I believe on the coronary heart of it’s that we have to rebuild public belief and confidence within the electoral course of.
That’s the reason the appointment of the following INEC chairman and nationwide commissioners could be very important as a result of at this time, there are partisan individuals at present in INEC. One of many unhealthy legacies that the late President Muhammadu Buhari left on our electoral course of is how he appointed people who’ve clear partisan curiosity, and when President Tinubu had the chance, he didn’t reverse that specific observe as a result of a few of the Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, that he nominated are individuals identified to have been marketing campaign actors, individuals who have both organic affinities or are cronies of sure politically uncovered individuals.
These are a few of the points as a result of if you do this, you cut back the arrogance that folks have within the electoral course of. That’s the reason for the appointing authority, on this case, who’s the president, there are particular standards that he must look out for earlier than he appoints the following chair or the following set of nationwide commissioners. As of at this time (Wednesday), there are 514 days till the 2027 elections. That’s one yr and 4 months, which means we don’t even have time. When you consider what the standards are, the structure units two situations. The primary one is that the individual should be nonpartisan and the second, the individual will need to have unquestionable integrity. It’s clear from expertise that these two {qualifications} or standards are insufficient.
There’s a nice want that the following chairman or nationwide commissioners needs to be people that not solely have impeccable character, however are people that do not need any partisan connection in any way. And what we’re saying is, actually, that individual mustn’t have been a member of a political occasion, whether or not current or previous. That’s one. The second is that the following INEC chairman and commissioners ought to no less than be individuals who have braveness, individuals who have the flexibility to withstand political strain, as a result of main INEC requires people who find themselves brave sufficient to name the bluff of politicians once they attempt to put strain on INEC.
However then additionally, we’ve seen how incompetence impacted the 2023 elections. Whenever you flood INEC with individuals who do not need the competence or perceive elections, what you get is what occurred in a spot like Sokoto. If you happen to recall, there have been some who had been truly relieved of their accountability due to sheer incompetence. Whenever you examine the Edo and the Ondo governorship elections, you clearly see a stark distinction in the best way that the commissioners managed these elections. So competence does play a important function in figuring out who turns into the following INEC chairman. However then, what we’ve mentioned is the president has the facility. It’s his prerogative. However we’re saying the president must rise above politics and act as a statesman. And one of many issues that the president can actually do is when he decides on whoever he needs to nominate, are you able to launch and publish the title and ask residents or skilled teams or civil society to submit memoranda after which submit petitions, carry out a pre-nomination type of
And, on this explicit case, the Senate must introduce the framework for residents’ oversight. What occurs is as soon as the names of nominees are learn on the ground, that’s it. The Senate doesn’t name for memos. It doesn’t name for petitions. Nevertheless, within the appointment course of, we’ve seen how civil society has been very proactive.
However one of many issues the Senate can do that time is as soon as a nomination has been made, they should improve the credibility, the transparency and the standard of the nomination course of. Whenever you obtain petitions from civil society or from skilled teams, attend to these petitions, take into account them on their advantage after which when making a decision, please talk it to the individuals. I believe that these screenings needs to be televised. It is best to invite individuals to return make oral submissions after which make that complete course of open.
That is what civil society and residents are saying if we wish to make this complete course of participatory.
It is necessary for the president and the Senate to take this appointment significantly as a result of it has grave implications for our elections. In weak democracies the place politics is a do or die affair, political elites typically see management transition within the electoral fee as a chance to seize the electoral fee or consolidate management over the political course of.
Because of this we’re calling on the president and the Senate that it is a golden alternative that has been introduced to them. If you’ll take into account appointments, be sure that these are people who haven’t been members of political events, whether or not current or previous. They should be individuals who have impeccable character but additionally people who find themselves brave and, as some would say, individuals who have psychological alertness. As a result of the INEC job is a tedious one. You want people who find themselves wholesome and powerful to ship credible elections.
The put up Nigerians ‘ve lost confidence in electoral process —Itodo, Yiaga Africa boss appeared first on Vanguard News.
