By Dickson Omobola
Samson Itodo, an election observer and election improvement knowledgeable, is the Government Director of Yiaga Africa. On this interview monitored on Politics Right this moment, a Channels TV programme, he spoke on what President Bola Tinubu should do for the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee, INEC, because the tenure of its Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, is coming to finish.
Excerpts:
How important would this transition be, not just for INEC however for our elections?
It is rather important as a result of you will have a comparatively new electoral fee that can handle the 2027 elections. You recall a couple of weeks in the past, Yiaga Africa launched our standing of electoral integrity report for 2025, and one of many projections that we made was that the 2027 election would most probably be essentially the most compromised and maybe the most costly. One of many causes that we superior was due to this management transition within the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee, INEC.
If it isn’t managed fastidiously, if it isn’t managed from a statesman standpoint, you possibly can most likely have the subsequent elections jeopardized as a result of residents should not going to belief INEC. It is rather important as a result of Professor Mahmood Yakubu has been there for 10 years. His exit will go away numerous vacuum since you ask your self if a brand new chairman is appointed at any time when he’s, is there adequate time for the chairman to settle? If you happen to have a look at what knowledge says, you see the commissioners who’re leaving subsequent yr after which those that are leaving on the eve of the 2027 election. So, to a big extent, it’s fairly important. Don’t forget that the extent of belief of residents within the electoral course of can be at its lowest ebb. So, that is actually a possibility for the president, the Senate and the Nationwide Meeting to rebuild public belief and confidence within the electoral course of.
Professor Mahmood Yakubu will probably be often called the person who entrenched the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS and launched the Election End result Viewing Portal, IReV. How would you evaluation his time as INEC chief?
There have been exceptional reforms launched within the electoral course of. So as to add to that, it was below these 10 years that for the primary time in our historical past, poll papers and end result sheets had been produced domestically. That occurred within the 2023 elections. Beforehand, we’ve at all times printed our poll papers and end result sheets exterior the nation. This time, we printed them domestically and that’s one thing we should always encourage. Nations like South Africa, as an example print 100 per cent of their supplies. Actually, they fund their elections 100 per cent with out taking cash from anyone, however whenever you have a look at all these reforms that had been launched, public belief within the electoral course of has truly dampened due to points round electoral fraud. You additionally see sabotage by different establishments throughout the election governance structure, however the truth that we are literally at a degree the place residents belief within the electoral course of, that’s one thing that offers a supply of concern.
There are some reforms that he (Yakubu) launched that have to be retained just like the applied sciences that you simply talked about. Sadly, these identical applied sciences launched as sport changers are the identical instruments that at the moment are getting used to subvert the method. Do you agree that as we take into consideration retaining these instruments, the subsequent INEC boss ought to topic issues just like the BVAS and IReV to impartial audits?
What politicians have finished, coupled with complicit INEC officers, is to leverage the identical applied sciences to undermine the integrity of the method. There have been additionally numerous missed alternatives. We hope that the subsequent INEC would study from this particularly. I feel on the coronary heart of it’s that we have to rebuild public belief and confidence within the electoral course of.
That’s the reason the appointment of the subsequent INEC chairman and nationwide commissioners may be very vital as a result of at this time, there are partisan folks presently in INEC. One of many dangerous legacies that the late President Muhammadu Buhari left on our electoral course of is how he appointed people who’ve clear partisan curiosity, and when President Tinubu had the chance, he didn’t reverse that individual observe as a result of a number of the Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs, that he nominated are folks recognized to have been marketing campaign actors, individuals who have both organic affinities or are cronies of sure politically uncovered individuals.
These are a number of the points as a result of whenever you do this, you cut back the arrogance that folks have within the electoral course of. That’s the reason for the appointing authority, on this case, who’s the president, there are particular standards that he must look out for earlier than he appoints the subsequent chair or the subsequent set of nationwide commissioners. As of at this time (Wednesday), there are 514 days till the 2027 elections. That’s one yr and 4 months, which means we don’t even have time. When you concentrate on what the standards are, the structure units two situations. The primary one is that the particular person have to be nonpartisan and the second, the particular person should have unquestionable integrity. It’s clear from expertise that these two {qualifications} or standards are insufficient.
There’s a nice want that the subsequent chairman or nationwide commissioners needs to be people that not solely have impeccable character, however are people that do not need any partisan connection in any respect. And what we’re saying is, in reality, that particular person mustn’t have been a member of a political occasion, whether or not current or previous. That’s one. The second is that the subsequent INEC chairman and commissioners ought to no less than be individuals who have braveness, individuals who have the flexibility to withstand political stress, as a result of main INEC requires people who find themselves brave sufficient to name the bluff of politicians once they attempt to put stress on INEC.
However then additionally, we’ve seen how incompetence impacted the 2023 elections. Whenever you flood INEC with individuals who do not need the competence or perceive elections, what you get is what occurred in a spot like Sokoto. If you happen to recall, there have been some who had been truly relieved of their accountability due to sheer incompetence. Whenever you evaluate the Edo and the Ondo governorship elections, you clearly see a stark distinction in the way in which that the commissioners managed these elections. So competence does play a vital function in figuring out who turns into the subsequent INEC chairman. However then, what we’ve stated is the president has the ability. It’s his prerogative. However we’re saying the president must rise above politics and act as a statesman. And one of many issues that the president can actually do is when he decides on whoever he desires to nominate, are you able to launch and publish the title and ask residents or skilled teams or civil society to submit memoranda after which submit petitions, carry out a pre-nomination kind of
And, on this specific case, the Senate must introduce the framework for residents’ oversight. What occurs is as soon as the names of nominees are learn on the ground, that’s it. The Senate doesn’t name for memos. It doesn’t name for petitions. Nevertheless, within the appointment course of, we’ve seen how civil society has been very proactive.
However one of many issues the Senate can do that time is as soon as a nomination has been made, they should improve the credibility, the transparency and the standard of the nomination course of. Whenever you obtain petitions from civil society or from skilled teams, attend to these petitions, contemplate them on their advantage after which when you decide, please talk it to the folks. I feel that these screenings needs to be televised. You need to invite folks to return make oral submissions after which make that complete course of open.
That is what civil society and residents are saying if we wish to make this complete course of participatory.
It’s important for the president and the Senate to take this appointment critically as a result of it has grave implications for our elections. In weak democracies the place politics is a do or die affair, political elites usually see management transition within the electoral fee as a possibility to seize the electoral fee or consolidate management over the political course of.
For this reason we’re calling on the president and the Senate that this can be a golden alternative that has been introduced to them. If you will contemplate appointments, be certain that these are people who haven’t been members of political events, whether or not current or previous. They have to be individuals who have impeccable character but in addition people who find themselves brave and, as some would say, individuals who have psychological alertness. As a result of the INEC job is a tedious one. You want people who find themselves wholesome and robust to ship credible elections.
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