Final List of Candidates for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections released
On 17th January 2019, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) released a final list of the candidates running for the offices of President, Vice President, Senators and members of the House of Representatives, respectively following its Election timetable. There are 72 Presidential candidates and 6,584 candidates for the National Assembly elections. The Social Democratic Party was listed, but no candidate was named for either the office of President or Vice President because claims to the Presidential candidature of the political party by two individuals, is currently the subject matter of a Court case. Interestingly, no All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates were listed for the National Assembly elections in Rivers and Zamfara States. The Presidential list features six women, vying for the office of President and 802 women contesting for seats in the National Assembly. The list of candidates for the State level elections for Governor and State Legislature is expected to be released on 31st January 2019.
New Strategy for Vote-buying uncovered
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it has discovered new techniques by politicians to buy votes from the electorate. INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, revealed details of plans by politicians to surreptitiously engage in vote- buying, during a meeting he had with the European Union Elections Observer Group. According to him, food vendors will be recruited and positioned strategically around the premises of Polling Units, to hand over cash and other incentives to voters during the exercise. Explaining the new technique, Prof Yakubu said that some politicians were planning to execute the strategy at Polling Units with large voter population using the vendors as the meeting and collection points, for the exchange of cash-for-votes, among other forms of inducement of voters. He however assured the public that having uncovered these plans, they will no longer be effective. It will be recalled that earlier in the month, INEC sounded an alarm over information it received that some people were inducing voters to release their PVCs or Voter Identification Numbers. The electoral body has made it clear that “Anyone found guilty of buying votes would pay either a fine of N1m or be sentenced to one year in prison; while multiple registration, impersonation and being in possession of more than one PVC would attract N1m fine or a 12-month jail terms or both.
In a similar vein, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has warned that it will not tolerate any form of election fraud. In a statement issued by the Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, to the media, he said: “We will be working with all stakeholders especially from the security and intelligence community, to stop the practice of vote-buying, and other financial malpractices that undermine the integrity of our elections. It is important to state here that those who offer bribes for votes, are as guilty as those who receive such gratification. The electorate should be vigilant and resist the temptation to sell their votes.” The Commission which has in recent days, restated its bid to eradicate corruption from Nigeria’s electoral system, held a rally and musical concert with the theme “Say No to Vote-Buying.” The rally was aimed at mobilising the grassroots against voters’ inducement and raising the consciousness of Nigerians against various forms of money laundering activities. The concert which was held at Unity Park in Abuja also included drama and comedy sketches, and emphasised the danger and consequences of vote buying. EFCC also took the opportunity to reiterate its message that: “The will of the people is not subverted through financial inducement and electorate should vote according to their conscience.” It called on the political class especially the candidates and their parties to “apprise themselves of the provisions of the Electoral Act on campaign financing as anything done outside the law would be considered as corrupts practices and dealt with accordingly.” The over-riding message to the electorate is: “When you sell your vote you have sold your conscience and your right. It is a criminal offence as it is viewed as bribery and corruption.”
Elections in the North East Will Not Be Postponed
Speculations on postponement of elections in the North East have been dispelled by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who have stated that elections will be conducted in all States of the Federation. Concerns have been raised in recent weeks over the spate of attacks in several communities in the North East and the implications for the elections. Speaking through its Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, INEC admitted that the Nigerian Air Force has been assisting in airlifting its personnel to “difficult terrains containing landmines in Borno State, especially during the Continuous Voter Registration” and this was an indication of INEC’s plans for voting to take place in these communities. According to Mr. Oyekanmi: “Postponement is not being considered. The Commission maintains robust synergy with the security agencies under the aegis of the Inter-Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES).”
Although fresh attacks have occurred in several parts of the North East in recent weeks, INEC is however assuring Nigerians that no part of the country will be excluded from the voting process. In the words of Mr. Oyekanmi: “The Commission believes that the Nigerian military is equal to the task, therefore with their help, elections will be conducted in all 36 states and the FCT.”
Election related Violence against Women Condemned
The right of women to free and fair participation in a credible and non-violent electoral process came under the spotlight recently. This was in relation to the acts of violence which women around the world face before, during and after elections. In light of this, a call has been made for Nigerians to condemn the use of violence as a tool for discouraging women’s participation in politics. This charge was made during a series of Seminars on Mitigating Violence Against Women in elections which took place across the country. The seminars were organised by the Gender Division of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as a way of drawing attention to the issue, and to train Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), in promoting violence-free elections. The CSOs in turn will sensitise the public on the importance of desisting from violence during the forth-coming polls and to enlighten women on what to do if confronted with violence in an election cycle.
During one of the seminars which took place in Enugu, the State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Enugu State, Dr. Emeka Ononamadu, attributed the poor participation of women in the electoral process to the high level of insecurity associated with election cycles. He said: “Free, fair and credible elections cannot be achieved in a society where there is violence, particularly against women, hence the need to protect women and embrace peaceful conduct of election matters.” He called on the security agencies to ensure protection of women during the elections “because a society that protects women is a society that is ready to develop.”
In a similar session in Jos, Plateau State, the State REC, Mallam Halilu Pai, noted that “Women suffer violence most during elections and this was why we organised a one-day sensitization programme to ensure that elections are peaceful so that no woman faces violence. He added that the programme was also to provide insights to the participants to understand the women perspective on violence during elections with a view to finding a lasting solution.”
Election Observer Missions reiterate support for Nigeria’s Elections
A delegation of Election Observer Missions from Europe and ECOWAS have visited the headquarters of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for an assessment of preparedness for the polls. During the meeting, the leader of the Mission, Ms. Marie Arena, expressed appreciation for the work INEC did with the previous recommendations after the 2015 elections, and revealed that the EU will be deploying 40 observers to all the States of the Federation, in addition to sending its parliamentary observation mission to Nigeria during the elections. Ms Arena also told the leadership of INEC that: “The EU is interested in seeing that democracy works in Nigeria because without democracy there is no development and there is no freedom” and that while working closely with all the stakeholders in Nigeria, two preliminary reports will be issued after the election; while final reports with recommendations will be ready two months later. The EU Ambassadors of France, Germany and Britain also pledged to continue to support the on-going electoral reforms in order to strengthen capacity to conduct well-managed elections.
Also speaking during the meeting, the leader of the ECOWAS Observers Mission, Ms Charlotte Osei, who is also a former chairperson of Ghana’s electoral commission, revealed that ECOWAS would be deploying both long and short term Observer Missions which will focus on legal, media, operations, gender and disabilities components.
In his response, INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, noted that preparations towards the elections were on course. He provided details of some aspects of the state of preparedness as: Meetings with the security agencies in order to ensure that the processes are protected; the right of voters to vote freely safeguarded; access for observers and the media guaranteed; and a transparent election outcome, reflecting the true will of Nigerians.
Recruitment of Election Ad-hoc Staff Commences
As part of efforts to ensure that it has the required number of ad-hoc polling staff to manage the voting process, INEC has commenced recruitment of the following officials: Supervisory Presiding Officer (SPO), Registration Area Centre (RAC) Manager, Presiding Officer (PO), Assistant Presiding Officer (APO) and Registration Area Technical Support (RATECH). The roles of these officials which have been spelt out in INEC’s Regulations and Guidelines include: “accreditation, organising the voting process, sorting, counting and recording of votes, collation of election results etc.
INEC Re-launches Election Monitoring and Support Centre
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has re-launched its Election Monitoring and Support Centre Committee (EMSC) to ensure good planning and success of the 2019 General Elections. The core mandate of the Committee is to “track the planning mechanisms and activities put in place for the hitch-free conduct of the elections. Other terms of reference for the Committee including establishing an operational framework for EMSC Secretariat at both headquarters and state offices to be fully functional for implementation, monitoring and support mechanisms; developing an operational framework for EMSC Secretariat platform including securing fully operational platform resources, dashboard analytics, mobile app support, as well as data collection, reporting and communication tools; developing operational manuals, facilitators’ guides and other relevant training materials for the effective functioning of the EMSC; organising and conducting various levels of training at headquarters and in state offices for the effective implementation of the EMSC Work Plan”.