The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it has
\npowers to prosecute allegations of vote buying by both the All
\nProgressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during
\nthe recently concluded governorship election in Ekiti State but lacks the
\npowers to arrest and investigate suspects.<\/p>\n
INEC said this in response to the open letter by Socio-Economic Rights and
\nAccountability Project, (SERAP) to the Commission\u2019s Chairman, Professor
\nMahmood Yakubu requesting the electoral commission to \u201cpromptly,
\nthoroughly and effectively investigate allegations of vote buying, and to
\ncollaborate with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related
\nOffences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes
\nCommission (EFCC) in any such investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The organization also urged INEC to \u201cprosecute anyone suspected to be
\ninvolved and\/or complicit in the alleged vote buying, if there is relevant
\nand sufficient admissible evidence of electoral bribery and abuse of the
\nelectoral and democratic process against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
But INEC in a letter signed by its Acting Secretary Okechukwu Ndeche said
\nthat while the Commission\u2019s legal officers or any legal practitioner
\nappointed by it can prosecute alleged vote buying, other agencies must
\nfirst arrest and investigate suspects before the Commission can prosecute.
\nThe Commission however said that it would \u201cpartner with other agencies to
\nprosecute electoral offenders.\u201d<\/p>\n
The INEC response dated 20 August 2018 but received yesterday by SERAP
\nread in part: \u201cWe refer to your letter dated 17th July 2018 wherein you
\nrequested that the Commission investigate and prosecute alleged vote
\nbuying in the recently concluded governorship election in Ekiti State.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Commission wishes to inform SERAP of the constraints posed by extant
\nstatutory provisions against your well-intended request.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou may also wish to note that it is not part of the constitutional
\nduties of the Commission to arrest and investigate suspects found to have
\ncontravened provisions of the Electoral Act or any other Law for the time
\nbeing in force. Section 150(2) of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) only
\nconfers powers on Legal Officers of the Commission or any other Legal
\nPractitioner appointed by it to undertake prosecution of offences
\ndisclosed under the Act.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe wish to assure you that the Commission will continue to partner with
\nrelevant security agencies to prosecute electoral offenders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reacting, SERAP said: \u201cWe note the response by INEC. We will be in court
\nthis Friday to seek orders to compel the Commission to work with other
\nagencies to ensure the immediate arrest, investigation and prosecution of
\nall suspects allegedly involved in vote buying in Ekiti State, Anambra
\nState, Edo State and Ondo State.\u201d<\/p>\n
It would be recalled that SERAP had earlier given Professor Yakubu 14 days
\nto prosecute suspects \u201cfailing which SERAP will institute legal
\nproceedings to compel you and the INEC to discharge your constitutional
\nand statutory responsibilities in the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
SERAP\u2019s letter copied to both the ICPC and the EFCC read in part: \u201cIt is
\nthe responsibility of INEC as an independent body to take meaningful steps
\nand action to minimise electoral bribery by politicians, ensure political
\nequality and prevent unfair electoral competition. No body politic worthy
\nof being called a democracy entrusts the selection of leaders to a process
\nof auction or barter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVote buying amounts to undue influence and improper electoral influence.
\nWhen politicians buy votes, they reinforce social subjugation and do
\nlong-term damage to poor voters, as vote buying impairs voters\u2019 already
\nlimited political power and participation in governance. Offering and
\ngiving poor people money to buy their votes is the hallmark of political
\ndisrespect, as it implies that politicians perceive voters as lacking
\nautonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestigating the allegations and prosecuting all those suspected to be
\ninvolved would indicate your agencies\u2019 willingness to exert your
\nauthorities and act as a deterrent against breaches of the electoral
\nprocess, Nigeria\u2019s anti-corruption legislation and international
\nstandards.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP therefore urges you to carry out investigation and prosecution of
\nvote buying in Ekiti election but also in the elections in Anambra State,
\nEdo State and Ondo State, in collaboration with the ICPC and EFCC of the
\nallegations of vote buying, as highlighted above, and to send a strong
\nmessage to politicians that INEC under your leadership would not tolerate
\nany infringement of the electoral process ahead of the 2019 general
\nelections.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTurnout of poor voters may decrease if they view a wealth-driven
\nelectoral system increasingly stacked against their interests. It is
\ninconsistent and incompatible with the principles of democracy, the rule
\nof law, transparency and accountability for politicians to use vote buying
\nto perpetuate systems of regular patronage, knowing that such acts would
\npurchase them sympathy and support, especially from socially and
\neconomically vulnerable communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cVote buying amounts to undue interference in the free exercise of the
\nright to vote, as it implicitly aims at influencing or attempting to
\ninfluence a voter not to vote or to vote in a particular manner.
\nSpecifically, the alleged giving of N3,000 or N5,000 to voters during the
\nEkiti election or payment into the bank accounts of voters is corruptly
\nintended, and clearly aimed to influence their choice of candidates and
\nvoting intention. This practice seriously undermines the right of voters
\nto freely vote according to their convictions.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFurther, vote buying gives wealthy politicians an advantage in election
\ncampaigns and outcome greater than what they already possess, and it
\nbiases political decisions in favor of the wealthy. Our democracy cannot
\nbe sustainable when the electoral system inordinately prioritise the
\nrights of political parties and their candidates in elections over and
\nabove those of the ordinary voter.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen politicians buy votes from the poor, political equality will suffer.
\nIf voters choose candidates for public office at least in part based on
\nthe voters\u2019 economic interests, and these economic interests vary
\ndepending upon one\u2019s wealth, candidates chosen in elections where the
\nwealthy buy the votes of the poor more likely will reflect the views of
\nthe wealthy. Thus, economic disparities will translate into political
\ndisparities in the election of candidates.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to reports, agents of the APC and the PDP allegedly openly
\nengaged in vote buying in some polling units during Ekiti Governorship
\nelection. Many voters were videoed moving in numbers to \u2018cash collection
\npoints\u2019 in lieu of their votes. Others received credit alerts on their
\nmobile phones.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe consider allegations of vote buying as political corruption, because
\nit is the promising or giving of value in the form of money, in return for
\na promise of a vote.\u00a0 We are concerned that the failure of INEC to rein in
\nelectoral bribery is illustrated by the fact that the body has failed
\nand\/or neglected to investigate and prosecute similar incidents of vote
\nbuying in places like Edo State; Anambra State and Ondo State.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSERAP is seriously concerned that vote buying undermines the ability of
\nINEC to discharge its responsibilities under Section 153 of the 1999
\nConstitution (as amended) and paragraph 15(a) of the third schedule of the
\nConstitution, the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and under the UN
\nConvention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that it has powers to prosecute allegations of vote buying by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":56720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n