Itodo Urges INEC to Allow Independent Audit of BIVAS and IReV Systems
is Yiaga Africa’s Executive Director. He discusses topics related to the nationwide by-election that was held on Saturday in this interview. Among other things, he criticizes the role that politicians play in elections, the need for the National Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to improve the electoral process, and the part that voters play in strengthening democracy. Joy Anigogu provides the following excerpts:
How do you feel about the string of accusations and the fairness of Saturday’s by-election?
The fact that this election has finally arrived is wonderful. Although it hasn’t been decided yet, we are certain that it will be. Because last year should have been the end of this by-election. It wasn’t carried out. I am aware that the inability to release funds to the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct the election was one of the factors contributing to its lengthy duration. And that in and of itself is problematic because depriving the electoral commission of the necessary funding is one method to capture INEC and prevent it from operating. Because INEC lacked the resources necessary to hold the election, we are holding it today. However, there are three things that this election today informs us. The first is that our political elite still refuses to follow the fundamental principles of democracy and fair elections. Places like Kano, where there was a massive thugs’ mobilization, are completely unacceptable in and of themselves. Thus, this is evident. Furthermore, I have no idea how the general elections in 2027 will turn out.
However, does this imply that voters and the electorate are not learning the fundamentals of democracy?
Not precisely. First, there are a number of problems. Consider thuggery as a form of socio-economic inequality. According to one theory, thuggery is fueled by the lack of opportunities and employment opportunities, which the state fails to provide. The second argument is that when people believe that politicians just embezzle public cash and fail to deliver on their promises, they want to be used as tools by those same politicians to sabotage the process. to receive a portion of the cake. That’s one of the problems that’s causing this. However, if you look elsewhere and have heard the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) speak before, I dare say that there was an attempt to sabotage the process. It is also visible if you look at Ogun State. Therefore, I believe that, first, today’s events are merely a prelude to what will occur in 2027.
I wanted to know if the two characteristics I mentioned earlier—integrity and management—would be a good prelude to the 2027 elections.
Of course. due to a few factors. First, I believe that when the security forces reprimanded those thugs in locations like Kano, they were very receptive. Arrests have also been made in Kaduna and Kano. Additionally, we witnessed the arrest of a political party agent and two INEC officials. They were therefore very receptive. It’s a by-election, though. They will be overburdened because the 2027 elections will be held throughout the entire nation. However, I would want to give them the benefit of the doubt and praise the security services for their promptness during today’s by-election. The final section, however, discusses the turnout level and the reasons behind absentee voting. It could be the consequence of various factors. First, it can be exhaustion. Second, they don’t think that their lives will change in any way as a result of voting in this election. However, when people claim that their votes are meaningless, they don’t advise staying away because doing so will allow the few to rule over the majority. And in a democracy, that in and of itself is unusual.
You must participate in elections and make it harder for unfit leaders to win. However, staying out won’t make this better.
Are political parties and even non-governmental organizations like yours using public awareness to speed up this kind of campaigning?
Yes, we’re contributing in some way. The media is also playing a role as a civil society. However, democracy, in my opinion, is a process. Persuasion, idea competition, discussion, and debate are all necessary for democracy. As civic society, we will keep doing it. We’ll keep an eye on our elections and look for any holes. We’ll find such shortcomings and disclose them to the public. As civil society, we will not compromise the norms for keeping our institutions and elected officials accountable. We’ll keep holding INEC to a higher standard. Democracy can only flourish in this way. Therefore, I believe that civil society organizations are largely fulfilling their job in spite of the difficulties they encounter. The media is carrying out its function in a similar manner. In a democracy, however, citizens are ultimately the kingmakers. Additionally, if people don’t raise their voices and there are elections held around the state with low turnout, it’s another way to send a strong message to the political elite that winning an election does not give you credibility.
Furthermore, after 26 years of democratic progress, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS) and electronic voting appear to be a phantom. Additionally, findings from the wards are released spontaneously to the local government headquarters and other locations in other countries, such as African nations. Why is it so challenging to accomplish in Nigeria?
It shouldn’t be too hard, in my opinion. The mindset of the political class, in my opinion, is what makes it challenging. Their actions are the ones disrupting the election process. To clean up the procedure, the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and BIVAS were implemented. Although the BIVAS was implemented to increase voter accreditation efficiency, it was also implemented to restrict duplicate voting and proxy voting. Why? Because in the past, politicians have gotten around elections by encouraging people to cast multiple ballots. The fact that these technologies are here and will remain so is crucial, in my opinion, but three factors need to be considered. The first is that IReV is not included in the collation procedure, according to the Supreme Court.
What is required of the National Assembly?
I disagree with the Supreme Court, but the National Assembly—particularly the Senate and the House of Representatives—should and is requiring electronic communication. Therefore, make both manual and electronic transmissions required by law and work hand in hand. The second is that it’s unclear how INEC’s rules, regulations, and guidelines are progressing. On the one hand, the court asserts that the rules and regulations are a component of the law and that you must largely abide by their requirements. However, it also states that the regulations are not a part of the legal framework and that since electronic transmission is not covered by the Act, it cannot be introduced by regulations. The third, and possibly final, point is that we require more transparency and that INEC expose the back end of the IReV and the back end of the BIVAS to independent audit and examination. In this manner, you can guarantee stakeholders and voters that there is no corruption or manipulation of the INEC BIVAS and IReV servers’ back end. Because you cannot expect people to trust you if you organize elections in a way that is opaque. You must be transparent if you want people to have faith in both the process and the result. People are suggesting that they need a new INEC because of this, and the next one should be able to do all of these things. The only way we can increase the number of people who vote in elections and create leaders who will answer to the Nigerian people is by fortifying our democracy.
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Yes, but money politics, as they are practiced in Nigeria, cannot be eliminated. In any political environment, money is a crucial component. Take a look at the enormous amount of money spent on the US presidential election; in this case, money is being used as an inducement. How beneficial is that to our culture of democracy?
despite the fact that I heard in your first article that one of the parties said the funds were intended for logistics. Now consider that there are roughly 25 million people on election day alone. One person or even a political organization has that enormous sum of money at a time when Nigerians cannot even boast of eating one meal a day. It is unclear whether it is being used for logistics or vote buying, but it also indicates the high cost. Therefore, if a candidate or political party has 200 polling places in a certain constituency, for example, you must send party agents to those polling places. The party agents must be paid. Although all of them need a lot of planning, it is impossible to have one person with that much money on election day without raising suspicions. Therefore, these are the essential questions that we must pose. Why do you have more than N25 million to give to your party agents on election day? There are alternative methods of distribution. You are able to make transfers. And those ought to have been completed sooner. Yes, a full investigation by the security authorities is required. However, you must prove two things if it is proven that this is for vote buying, as you are aware that it is illegal. “Actus reus and mens rea” are legal terms. The standard of proof, the act, and the intention will all be taken into consideration. However, it’s encouraging to note that security forces have detained wealthy people in Ogun or Oyo States in addition to Kaduna State. It demonstrates that we are moving forward.
However, it appears that no progress has been made in establishing an electoral tribunal to oversee matters such as these election-related frauds. Would Nigeria’s democratic culture be strengthened as a result?
Some people think that because INEC is responsible for prosecution under the election legislation, we haven’t been able to punish electoral offenses.
However, the crucial question is whether bribery is illegal under the criminal and penal codes. Many of the offenses that we classify as electoral offenses are already crimes that have been established in our criminal jurisprudence if you disturb the peace. Given that INEC claims that these obligations are choking it, why must we force it to bear the burden of ongoing prosecution of electoral offenders? Therefore, an electoral offenses commission is desperately needed. I wholeheartedly endorse that. However, there are a number of precautions that must be taken. One is that the Attorney General of the Federation shouldn’t have any authority over the commission’s day-to-day operations. The constitutional authority granted to the Attorney General of the Federation to conduct internal prosecutions and to halt criminal cases ought to be eliminated in connection to electoral offenses. Therefore, protecting the prosecution of electoral offenders requires more than just creating an electoral offenses commission; further necessary steps must be implemented. However, if electoral criminals are not prosecuted, there is general impunity. And the big question is that, as one of the lawmakers mentioned to me a few weeks ago, we are the ones who commit these electoral offenses. By this, we mean the political class, who are responsible for both the offenses and the creation of laws. Do you honestly believe that they will enact laws that contradict themselves? That isn’t feasible. So those are the problems.
