The recently flagged-off nationwide campaign by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to curb the problem of invalid votes, vote buying and vote selling across the country is a welcome development. In fact, any measure to cut down the number of voided ballots in the forthcoming election is good.
The campaign is coming at a time when our elections are characterised by large number of void votes and when vote buying and vote selling are being entrenched in the electoral system by unscrupulous elements. It is good that the NOA will take the sensitisation campaigns to the 774 local government areas of the country to enlighten those in the rural areas on how they can exercise their franchise by voting correctly.
They must hit the ground running because the election is very close. They must use the limited time available to reach all eligible voters in all parts of the country before the election starts. However, voter education should not be handled by NOA alone. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the political parties and civil society organisations must be involved. Already, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has enjoined the electoral agency’s desk officers to intensify the enlightenment campaign on the electorate by educating them on the electoral processes ahead of the 2019 general election.
Political parties should enlighten their members and their supporters on the need for them to participate in the election and vote correctly. Town unions, market women and other associations should also educate their members on how to vote during elections. They should not sell their votes. We agree with the Director-General of NOA, Dr. Garba Abari, that the 91 political parties and about 70 presidential candidates participating in the February 16 election had posed additional challenges on voter education. In fact, this has made the voter education more compelling.
Besides, we recall that the increasing number of void votes in our elections is a source of worry to many stakeholders. At times, the number of invalid votes could be too high to determine the outcome of an election. We believe that curbing the number of voided votes is one way of making the votes of the electorate count. Inadequate voter education can be responsible for high figures of voided votes recorded in some of our elections.
For instance, during the 2015 presidential election, a total of 844,519 votes were rejected as invalid out of 29,432,083 votes cast. We have recorded large number of invalid votes in almost every election. NOA should also collaborate with traditional and religious leaders to reach to those in the rural areas. The sensitisation programmes can be organised in churches and mosques. Youth organisations can be used to enlighten the illiterate rural dwellers on how to vote correctly.
There is the need to use jingles on radio and television to reach large audiences. Town criers should be included in the campaign. There should be mass distribution of flyers and posters in the 774 local government areas in the country. The campaigns can be taken to town halls in some rural communities as well as schools and markets.
NOA must ensure that persons with disabilities are duly enlightened on how they can participate in the electoral process so that their votes can also count. Although embarking on massive voter education before the election is important, it should be a continuous exercise until the entire elections are over. Beyond enlightenment on invalid votes, all voters must eschew any act that can lead to violence during the elections. Political party should sensitise their members and supporters against thuggery, ballot snatching, vote buying, vote selling and any act capable of denting the electoral process. We urge the electorate to vote correctly to reduce the number of invalid votes. They should also vote according to their conscience.
We commend the NOA’s initiative to curb the number of voided votes and urge other stakeholders to join the campaign. It is the duty of all Nigerians to ensure that the 2019 election is successful.