Introduction
Nigeria’s general elections will be held March 28, 2015, after a six-week postponement. Fourteen candidates including the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, will vie for the presidency, while 584and 1,544 candidates will contest senatorial and House of Representatives seats, respectively.
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room comprising more than 60 civil society groups has been involved in regular engagement with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other stakeholders in the electoral process, and has been actively observing preparations for the 2015 elections. The Situation Room considers the current level of preparations as adequate to provide a basis for the successful conduct of Nigeria’s general elections, despite some persistent challenges many of which could be addressed before the Election Day. The Situation Room appreciates the enormous efforts put into preparation for the elections especially by INEC, whose staff have worked under enormously harsh and insecure conditions in some states. In spite of these efforts, the Situation Room believes that there is room for the Commission to improve on several areas of its work including planning and logistics, voter education, internal communication, and staff training and supervision. It is critical that the operational and logistical lapses that occurred during the 2011 general elections and in most of the re-run gubernatorial elections do not repeat during the 2015 general elections.
Election Legal Framework
The conduct of the Presidential, National Assembly,Gubernatorial and State Houses of Assembly elections are regulated primarily by the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2010. These laws are supplemented by other legal instruments such as the Civil Procedure Code, the Police Act and Guidelines for the Conduct of Police Officers on Electoral Duty, Guidelines by INEC as well as the Nigerian Code of Advertising Practice and Sales Promotion (APCON) and the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.Overall, the legal framework for the 2015 general elections provides satisfactory basis for the conduct of democratic elections in accordance with international principles and Nigeria’s international legal commitments. However, a number of gaps still remain mainly due to the failure of the government to implement legal reforms proposed by INEC and other election stakeholders suggesting, among other things, improvements in the process of appointment of INEC commissioners, candidate nomination, campaign funding, regulation of voting procedure, women’s participation in politics, and constituency delimitation.
Preparations For Polling
INEC has worked since the 2011 general elections to improve on its capacity to conduct credible elections. Among the notable reforms adopted by the Commission are creation of a biometric voter register and the introduction of the use of card readers for voter accreditation, the implementation of a comprehensive restructuring of INEC’s bureaucracy, development of a comprehensive election project plan, design of a comprehensive business process mapping, establishment of the citizen’s contact center and adoption of new gender and communication policies. These measures aim at boosting the Commission’s operational and logistical capacities. The Situation Room expects that these reforms will enable the Commission overcome perennial challenges to Nigerian elections such as late deployment of staff and materials, delayed opening of polling stations, omission of names of duly registered voters in the voters list as well as problems with counting and collation of votes.
Generally, INEC’s polling arrangement during the 2015 general election appears satisfactory. The Commission was able to conduct Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) in line with the electoral law, despite initial challenges and delays. The Commission has also been able to distribute substantial number of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) after repeated extension of the deadline for the exercise. As at March 21, 2015 the Commission has distributed up to 56, 431, 255 PVCs, representing permanent cards for 81.98 per cent of registered voters.
Attempts by INEC to review the delimitation of constituencies and polling units faced strong opposition by some sections of the Nigerian public leading to the abandonment of the process by the Commission. During the 2015 general elections, voting will take place in 152, 031 polling units and voting points most of which were created before 1999 (more than 16 years ago). Part of the difficulties INEC encountered in its efforts to review constituency and polling arrangements was caused by late commencement of the exercise. The Situation Room urges INEC to be forthright in discharging its constitutional mandate of reviewing constituency and polling arrangements and that the Commission to commence the process early enough, perhaps, immediately after the 2015 election in order to be able to deal with the concerns of different sections of the Nigerian public.
INEC will deploy about 608,124 polling staff for the 2015 general elections. The process of recruitment and training of these polling staff has progressed satisfactorily. However, considering past experiences where INEC’s adhoc staff were not provided with adequate training, leading to widespread breach of procedures, the Situation Room urges INEC to ensure that its adhoc staff are provided with hands-on training particularly on the use of the 182, 000 card readers procured by the Commission. The Commission should also strengthen its internal communication process and ensure that no confusion arise regarding the election procedure, particularly the use of Incident Forms during the voter accreditation process. The Situation Room appeals to INEC to ensure that it adheres to the Communication Policy it developed as part its reforms.
While strengthening its internal communication, INEC should devote more attention to voter education. Over the years, there has been a consistent failure to devote sufficient resources to voter education. Voter education efforts are often arbitrary and ill-timed. The Situation Room notes that voter education programmes for the 2015 general election did not commence on time. INEC did not adhere to timelines in its Strategic Plan 2012-2016 which listed the inauguration and take off of the National Inter-Agency Committee on Voter Education (NICVE) as a key activity aimed at improving voter education. To avoid the recurrence of the situation during the 2011 general election in which large number of ballots were invalidated, INEC should mobilize its partners and election stakeholders especially the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and political parties to take up key role in educating the voters on the process and procedures. Effective voter education has been largely absent in the on-going campaigns by political parties. INEC should ensure that this is remedied. Arrangements put in place by INEC for voting by Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) should be publicized and detailed information should be provided to this target group.
Part of INEC’s efforts to close gaps in its preparations should focus on addressing possible lapses in the counting and collation process. Previous statements issued by the Situation Room consistently expressed concerns about the counting and collation process. It is hoped that this aspect of the electoral process is carried out with utmost transparency and integrity.
In general, the Situation Room commends INEC on its efforts to improve its relations with its partners and election stakeholders. In particular, the Situation Room has enjoyed a warm, transparent and meaningful engagement with INEC since the 2011 general elections. This is commendable and the Situation Room urges INEC to continue to maintain this momentum and expand its collaboration with election stakeholders.
Security Arrangements
The 2015 general elections are imperiled by threats of violence. A report by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) suggests over 58 persons have been killed in pre-election violence as at February 2015. Civil society organizations carrying out election security threat assessment like the CLEEN Foundation have warned that many states in Nigeria are exposed to risk of breakdown of peace during the election,especially if efforts to mitigate violence are not put in place. The Situation Room is worried by these reports and therefore urges the security agencies to take all lawful actions to ensure that lives and properties of Nigerians are protected during and after the elections.
During its engagement with the Nigeria Police, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) provided assurances that the Police was ready to provide security during the election. The IGP disclosed that the Nigeria Police plans to pay its officers all allowances in advance of their deployment. The Situation Room welcomes these assurances and efforts by the Nigeria Police and urges the Nigeria Police to maintain the professionalism it has showed in previous elections.
In a recent statement, the Situation Room expressed concerns about the use of hate speech during electioneering campaigns. The Situation Room is encouraged that the international community has responded seriously to the sentiments expressed by the Situation Room and other civil society organizations regarding the threat posed by use of hate speech in campaigns. Recently,the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, warned in strong terms that: “any person who incites or engages in acts of violence in the context of the upcoming elections or otherwise – including by ordering, inciting, encouraging or contributing to the commission of crimes that fall within ICC’s jurisdiction – is liable to prosecution; either by Nigerian Courts or by the ICC.No one should doubt my Office’s resolve to prosecute individuals responsible for the commission of ICC crimes, whenever necessary”. This message has been reiterated by the United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary-General on Political Affairs, Jerry Feltman, who noted during his visit to the Situation Room Secretariat on March 17, 2015,that the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has the full support of the UN Secretary General. The Situation Room urges candidates and their supporters to exercise restraints and ensure that the violence that marred the 2011 general elections does not recur.
Conclusion
In concluding this statement, the Situation Room urges Nigerians to go out en mass to exercise their franchise and defend their votes, and to do so peacefully. It is important for all Nigerians to recognize that beyond the partisan divisions and the outcomes of the electoral contests, the future of Nigeria is the main issue at stake. All Nigerians have a duty to ensure that they conduct themselves in ways that would not undermine the future of the country. The Situation Room recognizes that in the post-election period, Nigeria will continue to grapple with serious challenges including insecurity, economic decline, and the need for national reconciliation. Nigerians should begin to refocus attention to pressurizing and supporting the incoming administration to resolve these challenges.