The Civil Society Election Situation Room closely followed all three elections held between 9 and 29 April 2011 (and ongoing in the case of Imo State). Although our overall conclusion was that the elections were generally free, fair and credible, there remain contentious results in a few States. The election represents significant improvement over previous exercises since the beginning of the Fourth Republic in 1999. However a number of irregularities occurred which need to be addressed in order to improve quality of elections in Nigeria.
A problem specific to the 9 April National Assembly elections was the late arrival of voting materials in many of the polling units monitored across the country, even after the 2 April elections were necessarily – and courageously – postponed for this very reason. A related problem was the late arrival of INEC staff and security officials. All these combined to create unnecessary tension given the history of elections in Nigeria and understandable doubts that relatively peaceful elections were at all possible. However, it is to INEC’s credit that this particular problem was overcome in the following two elections.
A major problem in all three elections was the persistent incidents of ballot box snatching and stuffing which occurred in many parts of the country.
Another serious problem was the seemingly systematic and co-ordinated intimidation, arrests and even detention of election observers, some of whom were held incommunicado for several hours. This was particularly notable in the 16 April Presidential election.
Following on from the above, inadequate security was a persistent feature of the elections. There were cases of inadequate security personnel in many polling units, notably in areas known to be prone to violence An unfortunate consequence of this was the tragic deaths of a number of NYSC members and other citizens, especially during the National Assembly and Presidential elections, although it is notable that few such incidents occurred during the Gubernatorial/State Houses of Assembly elections.
Underage voting was a persistent feature of all three elections in selected parts of the country. Furthermore, attempts by INEC to stop this practice, sometimes with the support of observers and journalists, were resisted by the voters themselves, a case of the electorate undermining the very process that was supposed to liberate them.
The Situation Room condemns the violence that attended the Presidential elections. The violence was followed by low voter turnout for the gubernatorial/state houses of assembly elections. The low voter turn-out may also have been caused by heavy security presence which, while reassuring the general public of their safety, also had the unfortunate effect of intimidating potential voters.
However, by far the weakest link in the chain throughout the entire process was the seeming inability of INEC to control the collation process, which is where most of the alleged rigging took place, most notably in the presidential election. This was despite INEC’s own directive that observers should be accredited to monitor the collation process and be present at the centres. This was a laudable initiative on INEC’s part and underlined the electoral body’s own determination to ensure that it fulfilled its long-desired mandate to the Nigerian electorate.
Obvious cases of vote buying which was observed during the general elections were also another anomaly which was not properly addressed by the election authorities.
The Civil Society Election Situation Room is calling on INEC to immediately institute an audit of the 2011 General Elections in order to address these irregularities for the purpose of improving future elections.
In conclusion, the Civil Society Election Situation Room believes that the 2011 elections were generally acceptable and we congratulate INEC for achieving a feat that many were sceptical about, but the final triumph was the determination of the Nigerian people themselves to protect their franchise in the face of a beleaguered history and a political class that otherwise appeared determined to carry on business as usual. This was exemplified, above all, by the refusal of the young men and women on their one-year national service – and, indeed, their parents – to be intimidated by the brazen acts of lawlessness perpetrated by those who would hold the country hostage for their own selfish ends.
For: Elections Situation Room
Dr Jibrin Ibrahim
Executive Director
Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD)
Tel: 0803 4001200
Clement Nwankwo
Executive Director
Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC)
Tel: 0803 8899999