Although election rigging has been a serious problem in Nigeria, it is, unfortunately, growing in leaps and bounds at every election. It comes in many forms. A number of government officers have acknowledged in the past that they got into office through rigging. In Nigeria, ballot-snatching, figure alteration, bribing of electoral officers, intimidation of opponents through the use of security agents, multiple voting, among many others are known to many.
Recently, vote-buying emerged as the greatest threat to nation’s electoral system.
Since the advent of the current Fourth Republic in 1999, Nigeria’s electoral system has been plagued with several anomalies, ranging from; ballot box snatching, thuggery, mal-functioning of voting machines, god-fatherism and to INEC’s tendency to adopt fire-brigade approach towards preparation for elections.
These ills have affected the credibility of elections in the country, plunged the electoral system into chaos, while promoting irresponsible and bad governance.
In recent times, vote-buying has emerged as the new impediment to the conduct of free and fair elections in the country.
The automation of the electoral process since the 2015 general election, through the use of Permanent Voters Card, (PVC) has helped in checking rigging of elections across the country, though not new to nation’s voting process, vote-buying appears to be a new trend, which has become very pervasive.
In the recently held gubernatorial elections in Anambra and Ekiti states, there were reports of vote- buying and open inducement of voters with money, ranging from N500 to N700 by the two leading political parties in the country; the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
What is interesting to note is that this act was brazenly carried out in the open in the polling units, and the full glare of security agents and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
There were also reports of party agents; who were armed with the voters’ registers in wards across the state, moving from house to house, offering money to residents whose names could be found in the registers in return for votes.
The Ekiti State government was also accused of offering each voter between the sum of N4, 000 to N7, 000.
Similarly, the Ekiti State workers and pensioners, who had been owed several months’ salaries, were reported to have received alert of N7, 000 a day before the election.
As the 2019 general election approaches, political observers have raised concern about the trend, while urging that it must be urgently nipped-in-the-bud by relevant agencies.
INEC, which is constitutionally charged with the conduct of elections in the country and empowered by the electoral laws to deal with election s to be overwhelmed by the magnitude of these crimes, which pursued has the tendency of distracting the Commission.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who spoke with BDSUNDAY on condition of anonymity as he is one of the litigants in the Ekiti State gubernatorial election tribunal, said that the trend was worrisome, stressing that there was little INEC could do, while advocating for a stakeholder-meeting to find a solution to the ugly trend.
“The electoral law and other laws in the land empower INEC to deal with the issue of vote-buying. Vote-buying can be tagged as election malpractice; it is a criminal act. If it happens in the voting centre it can lead to immediate arrest of those doing it. But how many issues can INEC deal with? INEC would be busy with the conduct of the elections.
“All the parties are guilty of this offence. The one that happens in the Government House in Ekiti; how would INEC deal with that? You can arrest at the voting centres, but other places could be difficult.
“If the issue is left with INEC alone there is little that can be achieved; there has to be a concerted effort from INEC and the political parties in dealing with the issue. There has to be stakeholders’ meeting.
“When voters are beinginduced, it means they are voting for the wrong candidates which would affect governance, lead to poor governance and undermine the electoral process” he said.
Muhammed Haruna, INEC National Commissioner and Member, Information and Voter Education Committee, recently expressed concern about the trend ahead of 2019 general election.
“The Commission reviewed the conduct of the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State and preparations for the September 22, 2018 Osun governorship election. It noted the satisfactory conduct of the Ekiti governorship election as attested to by both domestic and international observers, the media and other stakeholders.
“The meeting also noted with deep concern, the rising phenomenon of vote-buying during elections and restated its commitment and determination to continue to work with all stakeholders, especially the security agencies, to stem the ugly trend”.
Rotimi Oyekanmi, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, in an interview with BDSUNDAY recently, said that the Commission was strategising on modalities for checking vote-buying during the 2019 general election, adding that it would adopt a method that would make it difficult to reveal which political party a voter was casting vote for.
“But INEC is looking at the protocols involved in the process of casting the ballot; the voting cubicles and how ballot papers will be folded on election-day. The plan is to make it very difficult, if not impossible, for a voter to be able to reveal which party he or she has voted for during the 2019 general election,” he said.
“All stakeholders, not only INEC, must come together to deal with the threat that vote-buying poses to our elections and democracy. All Nigerians should be concerned. In the real sense, it is not a new phenomenon, but I consider it a welcome development that serious attention is being given to it now, arising from what happened during the Ekiti governorship election,” Oyekanmi said.
A chieftain of the Accord Party (AP), Yemi Kool, said that the trend was likely to continue if perpetrators were not punished, stressing that the political elite was capitalising on the high poverty rate among Nigerians.
“The trend may continue, become as it is now the ruling party is the one doing it the most; look at what happened in Ekiti, they also tried it in Anambra. It is done in the presence of the police without any action. It would continue until the people involve are brought to book,” Kool said.
With about six months before the general election, and impending governorship elections in Osun in September, it has become imperative that political stakeholders in the country, must urgently rally and find a lasting solution to the trend, to give more credibility to the electoral process.
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