Professor Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), revealed plans to mobilize key national agencies tasked with monitoring and halting the flow of illicit cash before and during the general elections in 2023 on Wednesday.
Professor Yakubu provided the assurance at the National Stakeholders Forum on the 2023 General Elections, which was organized by the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (NCSTR) with funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). At the forum, CSOs and other stakeholders voiced serious concerns about how elections would be conducted in the face of economic and security challenges.
Professor Yakubu referred to the repeal and re-enactment of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) into the Electoral Act 2022 as the most progressive legislation in the history of elections in Nigeria because it allows CSOs to track issues arising from the law’s implementation and make recommendations for future review as the need arises. Professor Yakubu was speaking on the Commission’s preparation for the 2023 general election.
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The chairman of INEC, who revealed that there are only 93 days until the general election, stated that the commission has “made tremendous progress in the production and delivery of critical sensitive and non-sensitive election materials to respective State offices, while recruitment and training of ad hoc staff for the election are ongoing.
Professor Yakubu bemoaned the “perennial instability in the country” while discussing security, campaign money, technology, the Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVCs), and promises that their ballots will be counted on election day. The regrettable incidences of attacks on campaigns, demonstrations, and processions across all political parties have made this problem worse.
The Commission has felt it necessary to remind political parties, candidates, and their supporters on the requirements of the law and their responsibilities even though the Electoral Act 2022 and the Commission’s Regulations and Guidelines for Political Parties are unambiguous in this regard.
He also revealed the Commission’s intention to publish a summary on November 24, 2022, detailing the laws governing the conduct of political gatherings, processions, and campaigns.
“Now that we’re talking about campaign money, the Commission is committed to address the issue head-on. Party and candidate spending in excess of what is permitted by law, as well as the evil practice of vote buying at polling places on election day, are areas of violation.
Again, the Commission will release a summary of the rules regarding party and candidate funds and election expenses on Thursday, November 24, 2022. Beyond that, we are mobilizing all national institutions charged with monitoring and preventing the flow of illicit funding, as well as the regulating bodies for broadcast and print media, to take on the issue head-on. The specifics of this will soon be made public.
Regarding technology, the Electoral Act 2022 mandates that the Commission use it to accredit voters and post polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing (IReV) portal on election day. The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System will be used to carry out these procedures (BVAS). To reassure Nigerians, the BVAS would continue to be the only method of voter accreditation.
“Election day won’t have any incidents. The IReV portal will get real-time updates with polling unit results. As soon as the results are uploaded, Nigerians will view them. Since August 2020, the Commission has published results from 105 off-cycle governorship and bye-elections directly from the voting places in real-time. The results are still available to view on the IReV portal.
“The general election in 2023 won’t be any different. Any implied statement to the contrary is false. This should dispel the myth that Nigerians won’t be able to monitor polling unit results that Presiding Officers upload in real-time on Election Day.
On election logistics, he said that preparations are well on as the Commission has inked memoranda of understanding with service providers including road transport unions and planned to broaden the scope to include the maritime union for the riverine areas.
On her part, Ms. Ene Obi, the convener of the Civil Society Situation Room, commended all the partner organizations that are working to strengthen democracy in Nigeria and made significant contributions to the process of improving elections, holding stakeholders accountable, and enlightening citizens.
