Even more explosive and distressing for the US Secretary-General was the front page of Vanguard newspaper of June 19, 2019: “our fears for future polls in Nigeria.”
“Two institutions, International Republican Institute, IRI, and National Democratic Institute, NDI, yesterday, called for urgent national conversation to harmonise recommendations of various committees on electoral reforms.
This is even as Ketil Karlsen, Head of European union election observer team, said the body contributed over 100 million euro to support electoral reforms in Nigeria. But the All Progressives Congress (APC), in a swift reaction, said the reports of the international observers should be ignored, saying, “We are no kids, we can take care of ourselves.’’
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on its part, said the report by NDI and IRI warning of possible apathy in future elections showed that the 2019 presidential poll was rigged in favour of Muhammadu Buhari. According to the two US groups, the essence is to implement them to avoid facing citizens opting out of future elections.
They warned that if urgent steps were not taken, more negative things could occur in Nigerian democracy. The IRI and NDI, which issued the warning, during a presentation of the report of the 2019 general election in Nigeria, said the elections fell below the expectations of many people when compared to 2011 and 2015 elections.
The report was presented by, Christopher Fomunyoh, NDI’s senior associate for Africa and regional director for central and west Africa, and Elizabeth Lewis, the acting regional director for Africa division at the IRI, at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Fomunyoh, who specially asked for implementation of recommendations around the 2019 general elections, expressed fears that citizens might lose confidence and become very disaffected with future electoral process.
According to him, “I will just echo the response of my colleague, Lewis. I will on top of that also add that both of our organisations feel very fortunate to have been accepted by Nigerians and adopted by Nigerians as viable partners in helping to strengthen democracy in this country.
Both of our organisations are strengthened by the promise of Nigeria because we see the vitality of this country in human capital and material resources. We know what Nigeria can contribute to Nigerian people, to Africa and to the world.
Let’s not forget that projections of world population do show that by 2050, Nigeria may move from being the 7th to the 3rd most populous country in the world. Nigeria has a lot to offer. But at the same time, we are confounded by the fact that the country doesn’t seem to be punching at the level of its weight when it comes to issues of electoral practices and good governance.
A lot has been accomplished since the transition in 1999 but there is still a lot to be done – that their votes count, that elections and that democracy matters. And once the national conscience is awakened, we can all go home and celebrate that the country has grown to a point of no return
The IRI/NDI in their report also blamed the political class, lack of internal democracies in political parties as well as security operatives for some of the challenges experienced during the 2019 general elections.
Noting that INEC made arrangements for a credible poll, the groups said the political class deployed high-handed tactics, including vote buying, unguarded political statements and violence, to undermine the process.
They commended INEC for introducing simultaneous voting, posting of results at polling units, improved voter-verification technologies, a more robust review and disciplinary process for INEC staff, and enhancement of ballot secrecy as well as measures to reduce vote buying.
While making a case for pursuit of a comprehensive, inclusive and expeditious electoral reform process, the report said, “This process should draw upon recommendations from Nigerian-led reform initiatives such as the Uwais commission in 2008 and the Nnamani committee in 2017.
These reforms should also address the challenges and lessons learned from the 2019 electoral cycle and should include the creation of appropriate institutions to oversee political parties and prosecute electoral offences, responsibilities that impede INEC’s focus on election administration.
These reforms should be pursued immediately and completed early enough to allow changes to be fully implemented before the 2023 general elections.”
Part of recommendations is to establish time limits for the adjudication of pre-election petitions to ensure that judgments are rendered before election day and early enough not to interfere with INEC’s election preparations.
Reduce the length of time allowed for post-election disputes so the majority of petitions can be adjudicated fully before those rightly elected assume office. This might require re-examining the electoral calendar.
Meanwhile, the presidency, insisted that Buhari won the presidential election on February 23, 2019 with a clear margin.
And I think once the national conscience is awakened to the fact that a lot needs to be done to give spur citizens confidence that their votes count, that elections matter, and that democracy matters, then we will be at that juncture we could all go home and celebrate that the country has grown to a point of no return
The presidency also defended the suspension of Walter Onnoghen, former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), by Buhari over the controversy surrounding his asset declaration form before the last general elections.
Garba Shehu expressed reservations over IRI and NDI’s election report saying, “it was indisputable that Buhari defeated his main opponent, Atiku of PDP, with a margin of 14 percent.”
According to him, the most important thing in an election is that it reflects the will of the people, which in the circumstances was acknowledged to have been a success by ECOWAS observer mission and YIAGA Africa whose parallel vote tabulation verified INEC’s presidential election result as announced.
The presidential aide said, “We have developed a tradition of improvements in our electoral process through enforcement of our electoral law, which resulted in the prosecution and conviction of electoral officers that were found wanting by compromising our electoral process.
We, however, agree notwithstanding, that there are improvements that must be made in the process for the future. The sheer size, terrain and remoteness of certain regions do pose serious logistical challenges.”
BASHORUN J. K. RANDLE
Bashorun J.K. Randle is a former president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and former chairman of KPMG Nigeria and Africa Region. He is currently the chairman, J.K. Randle professional services.
Email: [email protected]
