Tunde Omolehin, Sokoto
Ferdinand Okotete is a lawyer and human right activist based in Sokoto State. He speaks on how credible election can be achieved by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as well as how the country’s legal framework can be strengthened through the commitment and prompt implementation of those saddled with leadership responsibilities.
There are commendations and condemnations over the role of INEC in the just concluded general elections. What is your view?
If you look at the major players in the exercise, especially, the INEC, to be fair, they did their best. Most of the blames on INEC were not directly their faults but the overzealousness of some politicians and security agencies that participated in the exercise were responsible. Take Rivers State for instance where security agencies were even the ones allegedly committing electoral fraud or violence. I heard that a panel was setup by the military to try some of its erring personnel as a result of their ignoble rules during the exercise in Rivers State. I think within the law, INEC tried its best to ensure that the election is fair to all. I am not exonerating INEC in totality. Yes, there are loopholes they need to improve on, like issues of inconclusive elections. In all, I think INEC could be adjudged to be fair because the inconclusive elections represented the wishes of the electorate. Overall, if I am to assess INEC, it will be given a pass mark.
The spates of inconclusive elections have assumed a new norm in our electoral system. What is your legal view on this?
If you look at the electoral act 2010 as amended and the provision of the constitution, there is nowhere the issue of inconclusive election was raised and recognised. Yes, I agree there are situation that could lead to a rerun between two leading parties, maybe if they (the parties or candidates) could not garner the required votes for their victory as required by the constitution. In a situation like this, you can have a rerun but to declare an election inconclusive because some votes were cancelled maybe as a result of violence or other reasons similar to it is a new phrase in our election system. That is why I aligned myself with what people are saying that our constitution and electoral act did not make provision for inconclusive elections. I also don’t want to agree that an election should be declared inconclusive because some people tamper with the ballots or were disenfranchised in certain areas. If this happens then politicians can now use it against their opponents, especially, in the areas where they did not have much support.
How can this be checked?
INEC should apply strictly the provisions of the electoral act and the constitution as it affects election. That was why I gave INEC pass mark in respect of what they did in both Rivers and Zamfara states. This means that by 2023, you will see some sanity among the political parties. The political parties will now know that if they did not conduct their primaries in accordance with the guidelines of INEC which is the upshot of the provision of electoral act and the constitution, they will be penalised for that. I like the way INEC has put its feet down by saying if we did not supervise or oversee your primaries then you cannot claim that you conducted one in compliance with the provision of the law. So, one of the ways we can stop this is for the electoral empire to exercise its independence.
Can electronic voting system help in ensuring credible election?
In the first place, if Nigeria wants to switch over to electronic voting, it ought to have started putting the facilities on the ground. When the issue of online banking started, I asked if the necessary facilities were on the ground to ensure it success. Take for instance, the issue of electricity. We are having difficulties to even generate and maintain 5,000 megawatts. USA is a country of approximately 250 million populations and generates 4 billion megawatts of electricity. China is having about 5 billion and UK is having over 450 million megawatts of electricity. But in Nigeria with the new population figure of about 201 million can only boost of 5,000 megawatts. So, if we are going to use electronic voting we need suitable infrastructure to be on the ground. Part of the infrastructure is energy. Now, businesses are folding up and investors are going to other African countries. The card readers that INEC introduced have issue of power because it must be charged with power. Apart from the facility I have mentioned, we need to ask ourselves if we have manpower. You can even see what is happening to our card reader devices. Even the ATM, we could not handle well because while sitting in your home in Sokoto, somebody will be withdrawing your money in Aba through ATM. You can see that the structures and technical know-how are not there. In this case, manipulation can be introduced at anytime.
What is the assurance that people will not manipulate the electronic voting system?
There is no doubt that e-voting will ensure the credibility we are yearning for but we need the solid facilities on ground to achieve this. If not, we are not yet ready for such system.
To have a credible election in Nigeria, INEC must ensure its independence. Because, if a referee knows his job and rules guiding a game where it has the power to discipline the violators of the game then such game will be fair. So, if INEC is really an independent body, the first thing is to strengthen the existing electoral laws and not necessarily changing or adding to the law to ensure credible election. If INEC gives a directive, it is expected that all political stakeholders must compile. You see, it is not because we have faulty laws or there are no laws to govern us well but the willpower to give effect to the law we have is the problem we are facing in Nigeria and Africa at large. The laws are there but the problem is the implementations. That is where it starts from and not necessarily that we tamper with the law itself.