INEC’s Curious Timetable
The early release of the timetable for the 2019 general election has become contentious, writes Onyebuchi Ezigbo
According to the recent time table released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the next presidential election and National Assembly elections will hold on February 16, 2019. Governorship and state House of Assembly polls are to take place on March 2.
INEC’s National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Prince Solomon Soyebi, who made public the decisions, said the early release of the dates was part of efforts to nurture the nation’s democracy and the electoral system and to standardise the process by ensuring certainty in the dates for elections.
He said it would allow proper planning by INEC and other election stakeholders. He cited the examples of the United States of America (USA), Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Costa Rica , Switzerland, and even neighbouring country, Ghana, where dates for elections are known in advance.
Expectedly, the release of the 2019 election time table is eliciting actions and reactions from stakeholders; politicians and political parties alike. For the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), the early fixing of election dates is a good move that will make for adequate preparation for political parties and stakeholders.
The National Chairman of APGA, Chief Victor Oye, while sharing his view on the matter said the early announcement of the 2019 election dates would enable all stakeholders to meet up with the huge task involved in preparing for the exercise. He said politicians needed such time to reach out to their allies and build bridges across the political divides in order to put them in good stead for the election.
“INEC is doing its duty as prescribed by the law and for us as politicians, the presidential election is a gargantuan exercise that requires a lot of preparations and strategic alliance. Knowing the time table well in advance will be an advantage”, Oye said.
His counterpart in the Labour Party, Alhaji Abdulkadir Abudulsammi shares similar sentiment. He described the early release of th election time table as a step in the right direction, adding that it would assist both the electoral body and politicians to put their houses in order in good time before the contest.
Abudulsammi said: “It will enable both the politicians and INEC to make adequate preparations for the election, so that nobody will be taken unawares. This is the first time INEC will give a long period of notice for the election. Neither INEC nor the political parties will have excuse for not getting ready for the election”.
But not everyone is excited over the development. Some other stakeholders have expressed critical views about the early release of the time table. The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led faction of the divided main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the rush with which INEC released the time table has given room for suspicion.
The faction’s spokesman, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, alleged that INEC’s move was fraught with hidden motives. He said as things stand now there is evidence that the present leadership at INEC can not conduct a credible and transparent election in the country.
He contended that “The motive is clearly suspicious because there was a topic that was trending seriously and they just want to divert attention from it. And moreover, the release of the election time table was not comprehensive. For instance, we in Ekiti and Osun States will be having an election next year and the Anambra State governorship election will be coming up soon and there was no mention of that by the INEC. Why is the commission more concerned about
On its face value the electoral body should be commended for being proactive.Perhaps the only issue here is whether the present management team at INEC would be able to convince Nigerians in the days ahead that it is indeed prepared for the enormous task involved in conducting a general election in the country
It is curious that an electoral commission that is yet to be properly constituted and has before it many unfinished matters including voter education and enlightenment, had to rush out date for 2019 general election in full disregard of rule guiding it. As we speak, Anambra State gubernatorial election is due later this year and the state has no Resident Electoral Commissioner REC
the 2019 and not the ones that are about to take place?”
Also, the former acting National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus in his reaction alleged that the commission might be doing the biding of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by rushing to issue the time table for the 2019 election. He said INEC as presently constituted could not conduct unbiased election and should therefore be dissolved and reconstituted to save our democracy.
Secondus is of the view that INEC management as presently constituted could not conduct a free and fair election and should therefore be dissolved and reconstituted to save Nigeria’s democracy.
He noted that Nigerians need no further prove to establish that the electoral body was allegedly designed to do the bidding of the ruling APC.
According to him, the commission has shown enormous arrogance and lack of democratic principles in its affairs by rushing to release the timetable for the election that is 24 months away when it has many urgent and unfinished matters before it. Secondus said INEC in its determination to carry out APC designed agenda rolled out the timetable without carrying out the necessary due diligent that includes adequate consultations with critical stakeholders like the political parties and civil society groups whose input is always sought and accommodated before the final decisions are taken.
The issue of the mass exodus of INEC Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) due to tenure expiration and the apparent foot-dragging in effecting their replacement also came under spotlight. About 33 out the 37 RECs in charge of the INEC offices in the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are affected and this is posing serious challenges to the commission.
Secondus said: “It is curious that an electoral commission that is yet to be properly constituted and has before it many unfinished matters including voter education and enlightenment, had to rush out date for 2019 general election in full disregard of rule guiding it. As we speak, Anambra State gubernatorial election is due later this year and the state has no Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) to carry out all the needful as enshrined in the constitution. Since last year, Nigerian Senate had raised the alarm over the implication of non constitution of INEC board but while the National Commissioners are filled, over 30 seats of Resident Electoral Commissioners remain vacant.”
Secondus said that statutorily the President has the responsibility to appoint the RECs subject to the confirmation of the Senate in line with Section 153 of the 1999 constitution as amended, Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Constitution, which established INEC; and Section 14(1) and (2) of the Third Schedule, which established the office of the National Chairman of INEC, the 12 National Commissioners as well as the RECs. “Is it not curious therefore that INEC that is rushing to release 2019 timetable operates currently without RECs in the following states, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Edo, Enugu, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Niger, Plateau, Nasarawa, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Sokoto, Yobe and Zamfara?” He asked.
He also described as worrisome the character exhibited by the electoral body since Prof Mahmood Yakubu took over the leadership of the commission, which he said has cast doubt on his ability to conduct free, fair and credible poll. The politician alleged that from Kogi, to Bayelsa, Imo to Edo and Rivers States the commission under the watch of the current chairman “has failed to establish itself and engender the people’s confidence that it would be able to conduct unbiased election.
“If it is not inconclusive election, hacked website, it’s result falsification and result padding in connivance with the ruling APC”, he added.
However, it was not all knocks for the electoral body as the ruling party, the APC praised the wisdom of the commission in coming up with definite dates for the election two years before it is due. The National Publicity Secretary of APC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said the party was very optimistic that INEC would deliver on its mandate to ensure credible and transparent election in 2019.
The announcement of the timetable for the 2019 general elections, nearly two years to the conduct of the elections came as major surprise to most Nigerians, especially the politicians and political parties who must have been jolted by the seeming new-found pro-activeness of the electoral body. The development is a departure from what used to be in the past where dates of major elections are fixed just few months ahead. On its face value the electoral body should be commended for being proactive. Perhaps the only issue here is whether the present management team at INEC would be able to convince Nigerians in the days ahead that it is indeed prepared for the enormous task involved in conducting a general election in the country. It has been expectations of Nigerians that the country’s electoral system will one day improve to the level we would no longer have to contend with poorly prepared and supervised polls. The new election time table by INEC no doubt comes with some positive derivatives as well as challenges. It will be pertinent to consider the implications of the early publication of the election time table. One of such implications is that both INEC and the election stakeholders will now have ample time to prepare and review strategies being adopted to ensure a credible and reliable electoral system. First, there are several stages of preparations to be made by INEC before
Another implication of the released election time table is that it places upon INEC and the National Assembly the task of ensuring that all proposed review of the Electoral Act and other aspects of constitutional amendment are pursued with more vigour and concluded before the election dates
going into the conduct of the general election. Funding is usually a very critical factor for the smooth prosecution of elections and in a vast country like Nigeria, nothing short of adequate funding is needed to put things in the right place. These days, the country’s yearly budget circle seems to overlap three months into the new year. What this means is that since INEC has fixed the general election to commence on February 16, 2019, funding for the election will have to come from the 2018 national budget. INEC therefore has to work towards meeting its needs in terms of funding by starting early to prepare it budget for the general election.
Secondly, INEC must by now be thinking of how to fine-tune its voters register so that all the noticeable flaws can be detected and dealt with in good time.
The nagging issue of malfunctioning of the card reader machines is another area where the electoral body needs to build more public confidence on its reliability. Added to this is the shortfall in the number of these Smart Card Readers, as the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu stated while receiving the visiting members of the Senate Committe on Elections Matters, the commission is seeking to replace a total of 3000 card reader machine it lost during previous elections.
The issue of voter registration and distribution of Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) have also been a problem as the exercise has not been carried out in a satisfactory manner. There are still many registered voters without the PVCs. That ought to be attended to and the commission should use the long period before the general election to distribute these PVCs to avoid recourse to adhoc arrangement.
One of the cardinal functions of INEC is that of ensuring adequate voter education and mobilisation. Although the commission shares this function with political parties, most of the parties have been so immersed in internal squabbles and intrigues that they cannot find time and resources to engage in public enlightenment and mobilisation of voters. It therefore behoves on the present management of INEC to invest time and resources to educate the electorate on the electoral system, especially some of the reforms and innovation being introduced. A good example of some of the innovation in our electoral system that needs more public enlightenment campaign, is the Continuous Voting and Accreditation exercise which was introduced by INEC during recent elections. Before its introduction during the Bayelsa governorship run-off election, voters would first do accreditation and then wait till about 3 pm to cast their votes. Many people see the new arrangement rightly or wrongly as a ploy to lure them out of the voting centre after casting their votes in order to create room for manipulation of result.
Another implication of the released election time table is that it places upon INEC and the National Assembly the task of ensuring that all proposed review of the Electoral Act and other aspects of constitutional amendment are pursued with more vigour and concluded before the election dates. Not long ago, INEC constituted committees on how to get some of the new reforms into the Electoral Act. diaspora voting, constituency delimitation and electoral offences commission.
Among the six committees recently set up by INEC were the ones on review of constituency delineation and diaspora participation in elections.
Speaking on the efforts of the commission, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi said that the commission sought to amend the constitution to give room for the establishment of a special commission on election malpractices to deal with all forms of malfeasance committed during elections. He said the implementation of diaspora voting and electronic voting required constitutional amendments in order to make them lawful. On the issue of diaspora voting, he explained that the commission has a committee that is presently working with the relevant Senate committees to see if things can be straightened out.
“The issue of diaspora voting is a constitutional matter, let me say that. You know that for us to have diaspora voting, you need to change some provisions of the Electoral Act. For instance the Electoral Act says that you can only vote where you are registered but those living outside the country cannot vote by proxy. If you are registered in Anambra, you are expected to cast your vote there and no other place”.
Again, Oyekanmi spoke of the constraints facing the commission in its effort to curb electoral fraud and violence during elections. According to him, one of the things INEC is pushing for in the proposed constitutional amendment is the issue of technology, to give it the leverage to use any technology that will enhance the election. On the issue of election violence, he explained that INEC needed a definite law to help it check violence during elections and to at least to make those who commit crime to pay for it to serve as a deterrent for those who may want to engage in criminal acts.
“You know these are things that take a lot of time. I don’t think that diaspora voting can take place in 2019, that is the truth. The same way that electronic voting is not likely to be part of the 2019 election because there are issues around it that will not make it possible. Now the Electoral Act is in the process of being amended and we have been on it for quite some time. The Senate President promised us since last December but it could not be concluded for obvious reasons. So they are still on it and they said that they are trying to fast track it”.
However, there are fears that the release of the 2019 election time table may bring the commission on collusion cause with the lawmakers, some of whom may view the move as an attempt to preempt the outcome of the constitution amendment process. For instance there were concerns that INEC may be trying to preempt the plan by lawmakers’ move to change the sequence of elections under the ongoing review of the Electoral Act. Because of this, INEC needs to embark on an urgent confidence-building measure to ensure that most of the stakeholders are on the same page with it as far as the plans for the 2019 election are concerned.