That Nigerians are embarrassed over the poor outing is an under- statement. After 16 years of democratic governance in which we have gone through many election cycles, it is indeed dispiriting that elections in two of the smallest states in the country were fraught with many problems.
There is no doubt that the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, is new on the job, but the electoral agency with tested commissioners has conducted several elections in the country in the past 16 years.
The failure of the electoral umpire to deliver on these polls has confirmed the doubts about its ability to conduct future general elections in the country. With the Kogi and Bayelsa elections, INEC has demonstrated that it has not imbibed sufficient lessons from past polls.
The elections were generally dogged by logistics problems. In Dekina, Kogi State, INEC precipitately replaced its trained ad hoc staff which led to a lot of confusion about procedures. The card reader malfunctioned in some polling centres. There was also violence. There is need for more training for electoral personnel.
Also the death of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Abubakar Audu, midway into the exercise introduced its own confusion, threw up many legal battles and other issues that will be resolved with time. Nigerians deserve better than the INEC performance in Kogi Bayelsa poll, a week later, was not better. On the eve of the election, voters’ cards were still being distributed in four of the eight lo- cal governments of the state. The Bayelsa election had to be extended to the next day because of unrest in the Southern Ijaw Local Govern- ment Area.
At 4 p.m. on the second day, electoral materials were still being distributed with the result that polling took place at night. If elections are difficult enough in broad daylight, what could happen at night is better left to the imagination.
The reported protest by police officers deployed to the state for the election is an indication that their welfare might have been compromised.
Bayelsa election was characterized by violence, ballot box snatching, and intimidation. These acts are antithetical to democracy and it is disheartening that they could still feature in a Nigerian election.
The card reader also did not work in some places. It has proved no better than it was during the 2015 general elections. And from all indications, INEC seems unable to improve on its performance. The card reader should either be made to work or be done away with.
As our elections become more cumbersome, the voter apathy becomes more glaring. Nigerians would want to vote but they are staying away because the process, which requires two visits to the polling booth is quite excruciating. Such voter apathy was witnessed in Kogi and Bayelsa polls.
We think that INEC should rethink the idea of separating accreditation from voting. It is a needless complexity to a simple two-step process of accreditation and voting. Also needless is the lockdown of cities and states during elections.
The prevention of inter-state travellers from continuing their journey when they have nothing to do with the election smacks of paranoia rather than pre- caution as was the case in Kogi poll. The location of the polling units should be done with great- er care.
INEC should make greater use of civic centres like community schools, village squares and town halls rather than shops and palace grounds. Nigerians deserve better than INEC performance in Kogi and Bayelsa states. INEC should encourage our democratic development not dampen it with flawed elections.
Elections should be conducted in such a way that will make Nigerians look forward to them. They should neither be dreaded nor be a source of political tension and anxiety. Let INEC use the lessons of these polls to improve on future ones.
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