In assessing the performance of the presidential and National Assembly elections conducted on March 28 by the INEC, it received kudos for good performance, as well as knocks over noticeable lapses. Senior Correspondent, ONYEWUCHI OJINNAKA, outlines the assessment by various observer groups.
The various national and international observer groups that monitored penultimate Saturday’s presidential and National Assembly elections have commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for successful conduct of the elections held on March 28, but observed some lapses.
One of the groups is the Commonwealth Observer headed by a former Malawian president, Bakili Muluzi, who acknowledged that the election was peaceful and transparent. Muluzi, the chairperson of the group, gave the commendation while briefing newsmen on Monday in Abuja.
Briefing newsmen after the election, Muluzi had applauded Nigerians and political stakeholders in the electoral process for demonstrating patience and maturity during the electoral process.
According to him, “Full credit for the peaceful conduct of the elections must go, most of all, to the people of Nigeria.
“The Commonwealth Observer Group would like to commend the staff of INEC and polling officials, the security services, domestic and other international observers for the dedication and commitment they displayed.
“We commend the contribution made by the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and tertiary (education) students. These young men and women showed dedication, creativity and courage in helping to deliver a transparent electoral process,” he said.
Muluzi noted that despite the challenges, the introduction of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) is, in the view of the observer group, a major factor in enhancing the integrity of the electoral process by ensuring that eligible voters have the chance to vote.
The EU position
The European Union Election Observation Mission (EUEOM) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) election observation missions also lauded INEC for its performance and commitment to the conduct of peaceful and orderly elections in the country, despite the card-reader problems and other challenges.
While giving a preliminary assessment of the conduct of the election, the EUEOM Chief Observer, Santiago Fisas, disclosing its observation on the media coverage, said: “Voters were able to access a variety of views through the media. However, government-controlled broadcast media failed to comply with legal requirements on equitable coverage, clearly advantaging the incumbent at federal or state level.”
It further said “such bias remained essentially unchallenged by the regulatory body. Positively, some private media offered relatively balanced and diverse coverage of election campaigns.”
Leader of the IRI delegation, Mrs. Coleman Newman, and country director, Robinna Namusisi, stated that the delegation observed a transparent voting process, adding that Nigerians protected their vote and mandate.
Civil rights activists
Assessing the performance of INEC at the last presidential and National Assembly election, Florence Ozor, founder/national coordinator of Voting Right Movement (VRM), an Abuja-based non-governmental organisation, said that the commission performed fairly well, but spotted some hiccups observed by the smart card-reading device.
She, however, said that the problem of the card-reader was eventually resolved by the application of an alternative which was manual accreditation, adding that the commission conducted a credible election.
Commenting on low turn-out of voters nationwide, Ozor said it could be attributed to the fact that most registered voters did not get their PVCs.
“A lot of people did not get their PVCs,” she said.
Adding that fear of violence resulted in the low turn-out of voters, she advised INEC to work harder and put all logistics properly in place before the April 11 governorship and Houses of Assembly election, so that it will be better than the March 28 election.
Speaking with TheNiche, Tunde Aremu of ActionAid International Nigeria, commended INEC for conducting credible elections. He said the commission performed well, although there were challenges, especially from the card-reader. He expressed that the facilities could have been tested and perfected by the commission in the earlier elections held in Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states before this election. Stressing further that the March 28 election is better than the 2011 general election, he explained that “it is at the moment most trusted in this country”.
According to him, “there are lower figures in this election, unlike in the past; but the figures are realistic, not bloated”. For Aremu, the figures of the last election in 2011 were bloated.
“Bogus declaration in the past shows that it was bloated. What we had in the past was not actually the real figures of voters. In the past, people never came out as claimed, but now it looks like the real figures,” Aremu said.
Commenting on voter turn-out, Aremu said the conduct of political parties scared some people, while, due to the fear of the unknown, many people travelled to their hometowns where they did not register and therefore could not vote. He added that others were scared to come out, stressing that the experiences of previous elections may have affected the present low turn-out.
According to Aremu, despite all these, this is the first time we have concrete figure of voter turn-out. “We cannot compare it to previous elections where we saw bloated figures. This is the first time we have true figures and not bloated,” said he.
He praised the INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, for comporting himself in the light of embarrassment and provocation by some people who wanted to scuttle the election result. “He remained calm and succeeded in giving us credible election.”
In his assessment of INEC performance, the chairmen of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Kenny Bakare, scored INEC 85 per cent, saying that the election went well to the expectation of Nigerians. He said the commission did a good job, despite some problems associated with the card-reader. He pointed out that the card-reader really affected the accreditation exercise, but that INEC was able to surmount the problem by adopting the alternative.
On voter turn-out, Bakare said people could not vote because they left where they registered. Others could not come out because of fear of post-election violence, but the acceptance of defeat and congratulating the president-elect by President Jonathan is encouraging and has doused the tension, hoping that a lot of people will come out in the next election to vote without fear.
“People’s hope is now rekindled” Bakare said.
In his assessment, the Media Affairs Officer of Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Chude Chike, said: “All is well that ends well, despite all the misgivings.”
However, he admitted that no election anywhere in the world is perfect, adding that INEC has not delivered 100 per cent but has done well. He pointed out that some logistics, including PVCs and card-readers, contributed to the few lapses of INEC, but the commission delivered.
“There is no basis to give INEC failure. I will say that it did well, but there is room for improvement, especially on the card-readers. The only way we can put politicians on the run, to deliver, is through the use of such things like the card-reader,” Chude stressed.
The Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), admitted that INEC made a reasonable progress. According to him, “a little improvement is needed – improvement in terms of logistics and training of ad hoc staff.”
He added that the exercise was not perfect.
“If the election was not well conducted, INEC would have been blamed for that. But on the whole, it performed well,” Musa expressed.
CAN’s impression
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was also impressed with the conduct of the elections, saying that Nigerians exhibited a lot of patience and were dedicated and determined at ensuring a peaceful, fair and transparent elections despite the initial difficulties posed by the smart card-reading device.
The CAN chairman, Northeast zone, Rev. Shuaibu Byel, who expressed the feeling of the religious body, however, called for adequate security measures, especially in volatile areas, to forestall any post-election violence after the declaration of the winner.
Byel had, while commending Nigerian voters and INEC last Monday in Bauchi, said “despite the scorching sun and deep unfriendly heat, as well as other inconveniences, these sets of patriotic Nigerians waited patiently so that they can exercise their democratic rights to vote.”
He cautioned that adequate security measures be put in place to avoid the repeat of 2011 post-election violence, especially in regard to the outcome of the 2011 presidential election.
“Past experiences clearly showed that post-election violence erupted immediately the result was announced, particularly the presidential election result. That was what happened in 2011. We should learn from past experience,” he stressed.
He commended INEC for doing a good job by conducting a peaceful and successful presidential and National Assembly election and further commended the electorate for turning out en masse and comporting themselves despite a few hitches at some spots, saying that it was a clear indication that Nigeria’s democracy has come to stay and is gradually growing to maturity.
“The process was generally peaceful. People turned out en masse like never before in the history of elections in this country, usually characterised with apathy,” he posited, urging politicians, as well as the electorate, to embrace the outcome of election in good fate and accept it as the will of God.
“Contestants and the supporters should embrace the spirit of sportsmanship. Anyone who loses should accept the outcome and try again another time. The person who won should return God’s favour by being a good leader and a true representative of the people,” Byel advised.
Security operatives
For exhibiting good professional conduct during the presidential and National Assembly elections, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Suleiman Abba, commended the officers and men of the Force for their professional conduct during the national elections.
In a statement signed by the Force spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, the IGP also appreciated the public, particularly the electorate, for their orderly conduct and commitment to wonderful peaceful atmosphere in which the national elections were held.
He also thanked the electorate for their absolute cooperation with law enforcement and security officers during the polls.
