…To address challenges of delegate selection process, vote buying
By Chimezie Godfrey
The Electoral Forum, an initiative of the Electoral Hub has called for further amendment of the Electoral Act to address challenges of delegate selection process and vote buying and selling.
This was revealed in the Public Statement of the Sixth Technical Session of the Forum held on Wednesday, and signed by its Chairman, Prof. Adebayo Olukoshi.
The technical Session which was supported by OSIWA, focused on three key electoral issues in the current electoral timelines, namely: conduct of political party primaries, the emergence of candidates for the 2023 election, and Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections.
According to Prof. Olukoshi, the meeting examined developments during the political parties’ primaries and deeply look at the dynamics of the outcomes of the political primaries, discuss the post-political primaries’ environment, analyse Ekiti and Osun elections, and their implications for the general election, to identify strategies and mechanisms for addressing the challenges of the primaries and the elections such as the phenomenon of delegates inducements and vote buying, and recommend strategies on how to improve the electoral process in preparations for the 2023 general election and beyond.
He noted that during the technical session, Forum members discussed extensively how presidential candidates emerged and how the two recent governorship elections were conducted.
They commended the many progressive provisions of the new Electoral Act 2022, the conduct of party primaries by some of the political parties, the supervision of the Ekiti and Osun governorship election, and security agencies during these electoral activities.
They also expressed concerns about the integrity and survival of our democratic system and agreed that the Electoral Act 2022 requires a further amendment to safeguard the process. Participants particularly noted issues of the nomination of candidates and election of delegates as very important aspects of the electoral process and should be conducted appropriately.
On the Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections, Prof. Olukoshi disclosed that the Forum commended INEC for the successful supervision of these elections, adding that there is clear evidence that the elections are getting better although still challenged by vote-buying and selling.
According to him, the Forum acknowledged that all stakeholders did better – INEC, security agencies, and the electorate, adding that voter mobilization had improved with a higher turnout of 54.48% turnout in relation to PVC collection.
He however, stated that the Forum expressed concerns about vote buying and selling and the high number of rejected votes. For instance, 18,674 invalid votes/rejected votes were recorded during the Osun election.
“In conclusion, recognizing that consolidation of democracy involves the widespread acceptance of rules to guarantee political participation and political competition, The Electoral Forum proposed some recommendations (see the advocacy asks for more detailed recommendations), such as:
“Further amendment of the Electoral Act is required in some key areas including the delegate selection process to ensure the quality of delegates, and address vote buying and selling, amongst others.
“INEC and CSOs should develop and promote a programme of education on the new Electoral Act so that both the voting public and other interested stakeholders have a full and much better understanding of the provisions of the Act.
“Firm, consistent, and uniform enforcement of the Electoral Act and INEC’s regulations and guidelines to ensure fairness and equity.
“INEC should ensure parties submit membership register and delegate lists (situations of indirect primaries) timely to enable proper verification of the names submitted. And only primaries monitored by INEC should be accepted.
“There is a need for the reform of the process of candidates’ emergence with a specific focus on the quality of delegates that would participate in the selection of candidates (party primaries).
“Beyond the election period, there is a need for a deeper and more regular public education on the Electoral Act INEC’s regulations and guidelines and the electoral procedures by INEC, parties, CSOs, and NOA.
“Vote buying and selling as well as delegate inducements should be criminalized with strict enforcement of penalties through collaborative efforts amongst relevant agencies including Police, EFCC, ICPC, and INEC,” he stated.
Prof. Olukoshi further revealed that the Forum advocated for a reconstruction and reconfiguration of voting cubicles to further guarantee the secrecy of the ballot/voting.
Participants at the meeting included Professor Attahiru Jega, Hajia Amina Zakari, Professor Antonia Simbine,
Professor Babatunde Babawale , and
Mrs Gloria Ukpong, among others.
