INEC and monster of inconclusive elections

Election is a formal decision- making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. It has also been described as a celebration of democracy whereby the electorate are given the opportunity to elect leaders who will take charge of governance within a given period of time.
Indeed, because it is a process and not an event, election management bodies worldwide deploy human and material resources in a bid to enhance free, fair and credible process; this, perhaps, underscores why the electoral cycle stipulates pre-election, election and post-election activities.
In recent times in Nigeria, however, the process has assumed a new but dangerous dimension, with its history becoming replete with inconclusive polls.
It was, therefore, not surprising when the Independent National Electoral Commission again declared the Saturday, July 23, Imo North Senatorial re-run election inconclusive.
Also declared inconclusive were the State Assembly seats results for Oru East and Isiala Mbano local council areas of the state.
Our correspondent learnt that the Oru East State Assembly re-run election had to be declared inconclusive because of the shoot-out at Akata and Amiri communities in Oru East between supporters of the rival parties midway into the election. But the state Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, linked the cancellation of the exercise to excess voting in those areas.
Similarly, it was gathered that there were some skirmishes in some voting centres in Okigwe and Onuimo local government areas, where the re-run polls also took place.
Before the conduct of the Imo North Senatorial zone election, the nation had witnessed, almost in quick succession, two inconclusive governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states. The polls in these two states were supervised by the INEC boss, Professor Mahmood Yakubu.
It was not surprising, therefore, when the electoral umpire in a statement signed by its secretary, Mrs. Augusta Ogakwu, recently, said INEC had for the umpteenth time rescheduled legislative houses’ re-run elections in Rivers State, initially billed for July 30, citing violence and insecurity for its action.
Following court orders, INEC had fixed re-run elections for the various seats in the National and the Rivers State House of Assembly for March 19, 2016. However, the elections in all the three senatorial districts and several of these constituencies could not be concluded due to violent disruption of the process, which neccesitated the suspension of the exercise in all the senatorial districts and the affected constituencies.
The history of inconclusive election dates back to the June 12, 1993 presidential poll. This was the forerunner to what has lately occurred in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo North Senatorial zone. Perhaps, the only difference between the June 12 election and the current situation in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo North is that the voting process on June 12 was concluded throughout the length and breadth of the nation, but while the then National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, under Professor Humphrey Nwosu, commenced state by state announcement of the results of the presidential election, it was suddenly stopped midway by the then military administration under General Ibrahim Babangida.
The election, which has since remained a watershed in the history of the country, featured the candidates of the defunct Social Democratic Party, late Chief MKO Abiola and Alhaji Bashiru Tofa of the then National Republican Convention.
It is against this background and ahead of the forthcoming Edo and Ondo states’ governorship elections, that the fear of inconclusive polls has gripped both the electorate and the other actors on the nation’s political landscape.
But also worried by this development, INEC on Tuesday, July 26, gave reasons why it had found it difficult to conclude some of the elections it had conducted in recent times, stressing, “Every polling unit must be accounted for”. Besides, the Commission said it had evolved a “road map” that would ensure a smooth conduct of the September 10 governorship election in Edo State.
INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu, who gave this indication at a dialogue session between the electoral body and over 60 civil society groups involved in election monitoring in Abuja, insisted that politicians should be blamed for the recurring cases of inconclusive elections in the country.
Yakubu, who spoke through one of the INEC national commissioners, Hajiya Amina Zakari, observed that, “Elections in Nigeria have become too tight and keenly contested such that the commission can no longer declare anybody winner when result from even a single polling unit is cancelled.
“It is most regrettable that aside from sponsoring violence, ballot snatching, mutilation of election results and other vices, politicians are also trying to take over elections in the field”. Notwithstanding the defence by the Yakubu-led INEC, analysts are of the view that the declaration of the Imo North senatorial election inconclusive by the commission is worrisome, especially as preparations for the Edo and Ondo elections, scheduled for September 10 and November 26, are in top gear. Specifically, questions are being raised about INEC’s capability to conduct credible elections in 2019. Those who hold this opinion argue that if the commission could not handle the Imo North senatorial zone, Kogi and Bayelsa polls with fewer local government areas, how would it fare in a national election that will involve the country’s 774 local councils. Curiously, stakeholders have expressed concern and fears that the nation is sliding into the quagmire of inconclusive elections. But INEC has further defended its position regarding the spate of inconclusive elections, particularly in Kogi and Bayelsa states. At the 11th Public lecture of the Electoral Institute held in Abuja, the INEC boss stated that the incidence of inconclusive elections, so far, under his tenure, was a reflection of the competitiveness of the polls and a sign that elections were getting better.
At the lecture entitled, “Between Refuge and Rights: Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and inclusive electoral process in Nigeria”, Yakubu said, “The truth is that our elections are getting better, they are also becoming competitive. By the same token, citizens are now more confident that the votes really count.
“INEC will continue to ensure that the credibility of our elections remain sacrosanct. Acts of thuggery, ballot box snatching, wilful violation of guidelines and deliberate acts to void the card reader will always attract sanctions.”
He observed that the current problem of inconclusive elections was not without antecedents, adding that INEC had in the past declared elections inconclusive to ensure the credibility of the process.
He recalled that such a measure were in the past applied in Taraba, Imo, Anambra and other states.
But speaking on the issue, an elder statesman and Chairman, Northern Elders Council, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, said, ”I don’t have apprehension about future elections, the only problem is this card reader machine and in the run-up to the next election, I think the nation will re-examine the issue and see whether to continue with the machine or not. Left to me, the machine is bringing difficulties into the process.
“Yes, if the fingerprint of the president of Nigeria could not be recognised by the card reader machine, I think is either the whole thing should be abandoned or the Electoral Act should be amended” he said.
A former member of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Sani Takori, however, said, “It is too early to attribute any failure to the new INEC boss or members of the commission, because these are not general elections. The level of thuggery in Bayelsa and Kogi states, is responsible for the inconclusive elections. If it were general elections, where everybody will be in his state, we will have less problems.”
The President, National Youth Council of Nigeria, Ikenga Ugochinyere, blamed the problem on inadequate security.
“It is a sign of worsening democratic process; it has nothing to do with the INEC chairman, but the inability of our security agencies to provide adequate security and match those who breach security on election day.
“In Bayelsa, we saw that security agencies could not match hoodlums on election day. It is not INEC that will provide the needed security. As far as I am concerned, lack of security is responsible for inconclusive elections”.
Clearly, Professor Yakubu’s leadership of the nation’s electoral body will be subjected to another litmus test in the Edo and Ondo governorship elections on Saturday September 10 and Saturday November 26, respectively.
Analysts are of the view that stakeholders involved in the electoral process-INEC, the political parties and the electorate will play the game by the rules to stem the dangerous tide of ‘inconclusive elections