{"id":70935,"date":"2019-12-17T05:11:38","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T04:11:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=70935"},"modified":"2019-12-17T05:11:38","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T04:11:38","slug":"election-without-credibility-a-call-for-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/election-without-credibility-a-call-for-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"ELECTION WITHOUT CREDIBILITY: A CALL FOR REFORM."},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
The rising tide of contentious elections ending in heated debates, court<\/div>\n
\n
challenges, protests and legitimacy crises which in some cases triggered
\nbloodshed, destruction, and undermined the capacity for stable
\ngovernance, political inclusion, and national integration shows that
\nelectoral reform is an indispensable factor in Nigeria election calculus
\ntoday.<\/p>\n

Senator Ovie Omo-Agege and Abubakar Kyari while explaining the 26
\nclauses in the 2019 Electoral Amendment bill at the floor of the Senate
\non 20th November, 2019, stated that the amendment of the Act is to
\nstrengthen and protect Nigeria\u2019s democracy, as well as \u201ccure
\nspecific mischief plaguing\u00a0 elections and electoral processes in
\nNigeria, and as such, remains a priority in the ninth National
\nAssembly’s legislative agenda.<\/p>\n

Similarly, the Independence National Electoral Commission (INEC)
\nChairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on 10th December, 2019 said the
\ncommission would work assiduously with critical stakeholders in the
\nelectoral process in providing clarity, removing ambiguities, plugging
\nexisting lacuna in laws and constitutionally implementing those aspects
\nof the law that guaranteed the credibility of elections. By
\ninterpretation, this lacuna seems to be responsible for the crisis that
\ncharacterized the recent elections in Kogi and Bayelsa States.<\/p>\n

In Kogi State Election for instance, there were report of high level of
\nballot snatching, sporadic gunshots and other malpractices that took not
\nless than six (6) persons lives during the election despite the huge
\nnumbers (25,000 police men) of security personnel deployed to the state.
\nThe hight of this horrendous display was the incension of the Women
\nLeader of Peoples Democratic Party Campaign Organisation in the
\nelection, Mrs Salome Abuh, in her house on 18th November, 2019.<\/p>\n

Equally in Bayelsa state, both the electoral materials and INEC
\nofficials were hijacked by armed men. In some areas, electoral materials
\nwere not delivered to the polling unit till the end of the election.
\nProbably, this made the Convener of Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
\n(NCSSR), Clement Nwankwo, on 17th November, 2019 to described the
\nelections as \u201ca major dent to Nigeria\u2019s democratic process.<\/p>\n

In 2018, a similar analogy was used by the European Union observers for
\nthe Osun State Election. Some even described it as a slap on democracy
\nand called for reform in order to prevent such occurrence in future
\nelection. Not knowing that 2019 will manifest the next level of such
\ndisplay.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, the way and manner at which elections were
\nconducted from 2015 till date, shows that the process has really
\nretrogressed and therefore needs a progressive reform in order to
\nsalvage the nation’s democracy from collapse.<\/p>\n

2015 General election was so unique in Nigeria’s history to the extent
\nthat it created a level playing ground where the incumbent government
\nlost to the opposition party at the center. Ordinarily, one would have
\nexpected\u00a0 the beneficiaries of this election to improve on this
\nprecedent, but based on the broad day light election robbery this days,
\nthe story seems to be opposite.<\/p>\n

Before 2015 election, all the election results have always being in
\nfavour of the ruling party including the 2007 general election which the
\nwinner publicly agreed that the election was not credile enough and
\npromised to expedite a reform. The same was the story in 2003 and 1999,
\nto show the level of malpractices in the Nation’s elections and
\nprocesses.<\/p>\n

The same was the narrative in the first and second republics. And that
\nis the reason the losers always visit Election Tribunal after the
\nelection to participate in what most of the time seems to be judicial
\ngymnastic.<\/p>\n

According to the data released by the headquarters of the Court of
\nAppeal in Abuja on 4th April, 2019, not less than 736 election petitions
\nhave been filed to challenge the outcome of the 2019 general elections,
\nincluding the presidential election, at various states and levels.<\/p>\n

The most debated petition both at the public court and the court of law
\nwas\u00a0 Buhari v.s Atiku which gave so many people sleepless nights
\nincluding the president Mohammadu Buhari, before he was declared
\neminently qualified by the Supreme court on 30th October, 2019.<\/p>\n

However, the tradition of post-election result wrestling which in most
\ncases always initiated by the loser at the ring of justice is not new in
\nNigeria. Infact, the 2015 general where the ruling party lost to the
\nopposition party witnessed over 600 election petitions at the Election
\nTribunal. The same was the case in 2011, 2007, 2003 among others.<\/p>\n

The rate at which elections petitions are submitted to Election Tribunal
\nin Nigeria seems to leave the line between the INEC and Election
\nTribunal blurred. Infact, it suggests that the Tribunal is an umpire
\nwhere petitions is cast to debate the winners.<\/p>\n

Most times, when it favours the petitioner the judiciary is unbiased,
\nneutral and working. But, when it goes otherwise, the judiciary is
\ncorrupt. This is the reason an holistic reform starting from the
\nelectoral act is the panacea to the problem of election without
\ncredibility in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

Therefore, while the Electoral Amendment bill is passing through the
\nlegislative process, there is need for the political class and the
\nelectorates to embark on inner reform so that the 2023 election can
\nserve as a roadmap for other countries within and outside African
\ncontinent. Because, a reformed electoral act without human reform is
\nlike a vehicle without an engine.<\/p>\n

Femi Oluwasanmi,
\nIbafo,
\nOgun State.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rising tide of contentious elections ending in heated debates, court challenges, protests and legitimacy crises which in some cases triggered bloodshed, destruction, and undermined the capacity for stable governance,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70935","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\nELECTION WITHOUT CREDIBILITY: A CALL FOR REFORM. - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/articles-opinions\/election-without-credibility-a-call-for-reform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ELECTION WITHOUT CREDIBILITY: A CALL FOR REFORM. - 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