Underage voting is an aberration in Nigeria’s electoral system. The eligible age to participate in elections in the country is 18 years. However, during elections, children are allowed to vote in some parts of the country. Sometimes, even dead persons also vote. This is how rigging starts. When children who are obviously not up to the age of voting are allowed to vote, it impinges on the integrity of the electoral process and puts question marks on the outcome of the exercise.
Recently, a coalition of 10 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) raised the alarm over alleged 84,000 underage registered voters discovered in Plateau State. The group found out that the voters register was replete with massive underage persons including persons that are below five years old. There are also alleged multiple registrations in five out of 17 local government areas in the state. The CSOs urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to urgently clean up the voters register in Plateau State and in the entire country. We note that this has been the trend not just in Plateau State, but also in many other states of the federation, especially in the North.
Kano State is particularly notorious for this anomaly. For instance, in the local government election held in the 44 local government areas of that state in January 2021, allegations of underage voting were rife. The media and election observers had noted that children as small as nine years participated in the election. Pictures and video clips of underage voting were circulated on the social media to the chagrin of many people. This is not right as it is a breach of the constitution and the Electoral Act. It is a form of rigging.
Underage voting occurs because of the desperation of politicians to win at all costs. Usually, the ruling party indulges in this act to garner phantom votes where there is voter apathy or where they have chased voters away with thugs or security agents. They use children to vote to give the impression that there is massive turnout and to justify whatever figures they will cook up as their scores.
Apart from using underage voters, politicians also indulge in some other despicable acts to gain advantage over their opponents. In recent times, for instance, sponsored hoodlums burnt INEC offices in different parts of the country. Over 50 of such attacks were recorded across the country. It had occurred in places like Ebonyi, Imo, Anambra, Enugu, Ogun and Osun States. This has resulted in the destruction of vital materials like ballot boxes, voting cubicles, generating sets and uncollected Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).
All these have posed a great challenge for the 2023 general election. If not tackled, they may taint the result of the elections. The image of INEC, which is supposed to have detected those underage voters and blocked them from voting, is also at stake. It is obvious that children do not understand the implications of underage voting. It is sad that party agents and even security operatives indulge in the evil act. Hence, INEC and security officials should intensify efforts to apprehend and prosecute those involved in the illegality.
We take solace in the assurances of the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, that the commission would bequeath credible polls to Nigerians in 2023. He had stated that the commission was determined to make 2023 elections the best ever in Nigeria and would not be deterred by undemocratic and retrogressive elements.In a recent interview with Channels Television, INEC’s Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Victor Aluko, also assured that the register would be cleaned up completely and no underage voter would vote in 2023 elections.
INEC needs to do more work. It needs to be more vigilant. We urge the electoral umpire to speed up the process of updating voters’ register. Fraudulent elements are always looking for loopholes. Beyond assuring us that they would not allow underage voters, and that it would clean up the register, INEC should remove fictitious names from the register.
Relevant security agencies must be at alert too. Most times, they look the other way as underage voters file to cast their votes. No candidate must have any advantage over others. Only eligible voters must be allowed to vote. There should be no sacred cows.
The onus is on INEC to liaise with the CSOs and security agencies to fish out the culprits. It should arrest and prosecute all those responsible for the underage voting in the country. It should also sanction its staff members who allow underage voting in their areas. Nigerians need to be assured that there is a foolproof process for the upcoming elections.