Stakeholders say Wednesday night’s postponement of the governorship and state assembly elections announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) gives the organisation a second opportunity to prove itself.
INEC announced Wednesday night that the said elections previously scheduled for Saturday March 11 had been moved to Saturday, March 18.
Making the announcement, INEC National Commissioner for Voter Education, Festus Okoye, said following the ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) on the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used for the February 25 Presidential election, the Commission met to assess its impact on its preparations for the governorship exercise and decided to move the elections up by one week to give itself a leeway.
David Ayodele, Senior Programs Associate at the Enough is Enough Nigeria (EiE) Project, an NGO focused on enhancing citizen engagement and good governance, says of the governorship and state assembly elections postponement by INEC: “February 25 election has deepened the trust deficit between the commission and the electorates.”
Last February 25 is the date that Nigeria’s Presidential and National Assembly elections were held.
Ayodele further observes, “The outcome of the election has shown a subpar level of preparedness of the commission, given the tax payers resources deployed into this exercise. Shifting the election date by a week avails them a golden opportunity to redeem their image. What the commission clearly needs to do in this period are:
“Ensure that the process of reconfiguring BVAS is done in such a way that it addresses some of the concerns of citizens during the federal elections.
“Hold a stakeholders meeting to listen to the people. Let people share their experiences during the exercise and use this intelligence to prepare for the gubernatorial election.
“Name and prosecute INEC officials who were caught tampering with the electoral process.
“Write a detailed press release to admit their lapses during the federal elections, while stating the measures put in place to mitigate such occurences. Some of these lapses are: Lateness or unavailability of INEC officials in some polling units, late arrival of voting materials, insufficient voting materials in certain areas.”
Ayodele adds that INEC should, “Ensure that the IREV portal works as citizens have been promised ahead of elections.”
He further observes that, “Nigeria already recorded one of the lowest voter turnouts in the world, it could be worse if we don’t take precautionary measures.”
For his part, Dr.Dapo Thomas, a political analysts and lecturer, department of History and International Studies, Lagos State University, likewise does not think that moving the said elections forward is a fault on the part of INEC.
Thomas says: “I don’t think we should blame INEC because we must get things right. Its an open thing for all to see. Reconfiguring the machines would take some time.
“INEC officials were expected to start moving today, (Thursday March 9) especially those going to difficult terrain like the riverine areas.
“The reasons are good. We should all accept that there are no ulterior motives or manipulation. INEC has to be seen to be obeying court orders. It is good for us because we are following the process with transparency.
“There would have been technical problems with the reconfiguration if they had tried to hold the elections on the previously scheduled date.
“Its not man made. It’s a judiciary intervention and the judiciary has a role to play. With the postponement, INEC can go ahead with the reconfiguration.”
