THE LAST few days were defined by protracted confrontations between the friends and defenders of democracy, and its enemies and undertakers hibernating in the nation’s top political sanctuaries, transforming Nigeria’s democracy into a perpetual work in progress, an unfinished political confrontation against different species of dictatorships (military and civilian).
The shocking revelation that the Senate sought to truncate democracy through the ongoing amendments to the Electoral Act, by giving INEC the freedom to determine the mode of transmitting election results to it, whereas the green chamber is bent on deepening democracy through mandatory real time electronic transfer of election results to IReV, awoke the non-ruling democratic community from a deep slumber.
Why wouldn’t there be a nationwide induced network failure for INEC to resort to manual collation? What prevents INEC from exploiting the caveat in the clause to resort to manual collation, and subsequently declare results, leaving the mess to be sorted by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal?
To the battle fields the warriors of democracy rushed to confront the proxies of the democratic turncoats, beneficiaries of technological amendments to the electoral laws, venting their exasperation with the APC-must-reproduce-itself-in-power democracy.
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Many are perplexed that a principal legislative organ that should be a democratic watchdog is the weakest link in the defence of democracy, lending credence to the belief that the 10th Senate is a legislative incubus of personal dictatorship.
But why should anybody be afraid of real-time electronic transfer of election results to INEC, strengthened and deepened democracy? Apart from those whose governance trajectory is far off from the aspirations of the majority of Nigerians, haunted by the electoral backlash of their impunity, apprehensive that transparent elections would send them packing from their executive and legislative chambers to their respective homes, no one is averse to the mandatory electronic transfer of election results to INEC in Nigeria.
The opposition and the victims of the neoliberal virus unleashed on the nation, wouldn’t mind the institutionalisation of transparent elections, they would go the extra mile to oppose whoever wants to compromise the integrity of the elections.
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It’s ironic for Nigeria’s progressive politics that a so-called progressive government with a majority of legislators in the National Assembly would shy away from introducing progressive or revolutionary changes to the Electoral Act, to take Nigeria’s democracy to the next level, reached by many African democracies – Ghana , Kenya and Senegal, among others.
An INEC apologist would argue that the Constitution, the Electoral Act and the Electoral Regulations and Guidelines have vested massive powers in INEC to satisfactorily manage elections, glossing over the darkened spots of Dr Abel Guobadia’s and Prof. Maurice Iwu’s stewardships in INEC, have transformed the electoral agency into an unreliable umpire, especially under a captured democracy.
Thanks to the senators set to transform the red chamber from the legislative lapdog of the executive branch, to a limited bulwark for the defence of democracy and Nigerians, against the impunity that has been the hallmark of the progressive government, since it electorally and judicially railroaded itself into power.
The battle for the soul of Nigeria’s democracy is half fought and partially won, and the only way for it to be fully won, is for mandatory real-time electronic transfer of election results to INEC’s IReV to be the only means of election collation. The battle will fertilise the souls of those who paid the supreme sacrifice in defence of democracy.
The senate’s legislative volt face, a panic measure to redeem the soiled image of the red chamber, didn’t fully meet the aspirations of Nigerian democrats, who demonstrated in front of the National Assembly, to strip INEC of the powers granted it by Section 50 subsection 22 of the extant Electoral Act, to independently determine the means of collating elections anyway it pleases.
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The senatorial accommodation of mandatory real-time electronic transfer of election results in the bill, could turn out to be a Greek gift. It has to an extent mollified the democratic warriors that they have won a battle, but could be a booby trap for them to lose the 2027 battle.
Why wouldn’t there be a nationwide induced network failure for INEC to resort to manual collation? What prevents INEC from exploiting the caveat in the clause to resort to manual collation, and subsequently declare results, leaving the mess to be sorted by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal?
Most Nigerians have lost confidence in the electoral umpire because, apart from the short respite of Jega’s and Mahmud’s stewardships, INEC hasn’t demonstrated independent capacity to honourably discharge its affairs; recently portrayed its dependence and partiality in the registration of new political parties. Then, how could Nigerians trust an electoral umpire that couldn’t independently execute a basic function, to be left alone to determine how to collate results in the mother of all elections?
Senegal adopted mandatory real-time electronic transfer of election results in 2012, and Ghana and Kenya followed suit in 2020 and 2022. Why shouldn’t Nigeria’s progressive government become a pacesetting democracy in electoral transparency, rather than a pressured adopter of technological advances in its electoral laws
The battle for the soul of Nigeria’s democracy is half fought and partially won, and the only way for it to be fully won, is for mandatory real-time electronic transfer of election results to INEC’s IReV to be the only means of election collation. The battle will fertilise the souls of those who paid the supreme sacrifice in defence of democracy.
Jahun, a public affairs analyst, writes from Dutse, Jigawa State capital.
