2015 elections: How
IDPs will vote –JEGA





Professor
Attahiru
Jega is the
Chairman of
the
Independent
National
Electoral
Commission
(INEC).
Ahead of the
general
elections on
the 14th of
February, he granted an interview, during which he spoke on various
issues, including issues with PVCs, preparedness in the event of a
run-off, how internally displaced persons will vote, retirement plans
and more. Excerpts:

Weekly Trust: If events unfold to warrant a postponement of the
upcoming polls, is that a route you’re open to?

Prof. Attahiru Jega: In the first place, we should all be positive. We
at INEC are very positive that God-willing we’ll conduct the February
elections. Rather than sit and speculate negatively, we’re doing
everything possible to ensure that it takes place smoothly. Because
there are challenges concerning the cards, people are saying the
whole process has failed and we’re saying no. People are saying
we’ve disenfranchised them because we’re not distributing, but we
say no. You can’t begin to determine who is disenfranchised until
the day of election. If today is February 14th and there’re a number
of people out there who have registered, but INEC has not produced
their cards, then you can say they have been disenfranchised. On
the other hand, if we’ve produced the cards and people refuse or for
some reasons don’t go and collect those cards, they can’t say INEC
has disenfranchised them.

So, I think we’ve to be clear on these issues. Some of these cards
that we’re now being blamed for not distributing are cards we have
taken to the local government offices since July and August
because people did not come out and collect them. So when we say,
this is the figure collected, people say we did not distribute the
remaining balance instead of that, people didn’t come out to collect
their cards. I admit there’re still some cards we’ve not yet produced,
but there are millions already out there that have not been collected
by their owners.

WT: Is the INEC ready for events like, say, a run-off?
Jega: Of course the laws require that if there is a run-off, one
should be conducted. And when we prepare for elections, we also
prepare for that possibility.

WT: Are logistics immediately available for that?
Jega: Normally, in most countries where run-offs are done, you
have to allow for time to be able to prepare. There is a legal
constraint in our laws. The constitution says that if a run-off
becomes necessary, it should be done within seven days and we’ve
looked at the possibility of conducting it in seven days. We’ve also
looked at the timeline in other countries for the conducting of run-
offs and know that it’s almost impossible to carry it out in seven
days. Again, some of the proposals we’ve made to the National
Assembly for constitutional amendment is to amend that section so
as to provide for more time in case a run-off becomes necessary.

We looked at many countries. The earliest time people do run-offs is
three weeks. Some take as long as eight weeks. So we proposed to
the National Assembly to amend the constitution and let’s have at
least three weeks. But right now it’s seven days. We’ll do our best if
the law isn’t amended. Although we hope and pray that it’ll be
amended so that if it becomes necessary to do it, it will be done
without serious challenges.

WT: Is there a provision for the use of temporary voter’s cards in
the event that the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) remain
problematic up to a certain point?

Jega: The Electoral Act requires INEC to register voters and to give
them a permanent voter’s card. When we conducted registration in
January/February of 2011, we knew that the production of the PVCs
card takes time. So, as we registered people, we gave them a
Temporary Voter’s Card (TVC) and now that we’ve produced the
PVCs, if you have followed the process, you’ll see that when a
person comes to collect his PVC, he is required to surrender the
temporary card.

But there are many who came to collect their PVC who claimed they
had lost their cards, blaming either flooding in their area, or
insurgency in their areas. We required them to make an attestation
on the basis of which their PVCs are there. The point I’m making is
that by law, we are required to produce and issue PVCs to be
presented at the polling unit for election. As I speak with you, we’re
doing everything possible to ensure that all persons who have
registered, have their cards ready for collection well before the
general elections.

WT: Time is running out on the distribution. How will INEC handle
this?

Jega: We’re doing our best to increase the pace of distribution. For
example, we have now extended the period of collection from 8:30
to 5:30pm, Mondays to Fridays. We also now require our offices to
distribute cards on Saturdays and we have also asked our Resident
Electoral Commissioners to find ways of decentralising the
distribution from the local government to the ward level. Here in the
FCT, they have already commenced, as well as in many other states.
So we believe that all these measures will hasten the pace of
collection.

But it’s one thing to make it possible for people to collect cards and
another for people to come out to collect them. Remember, some of
these cards have been in the local government offices of INEC since
July/August last year without the owners going to collect them.
We’ve done our bit in public enlightenment and sensitisation and
hope other stakeholders would help us in doing that. The reason
why we want to avoid the possibility of saying people can use
temporary cards is that there were many people who did multiple
registrations. From the information we made available yesterday,
after running the entire data base, we’ve eliminated over four million
people who have done multiple registration and every person who
did so has a TVC.

WT: There seems to be a bit of apprehension about the card readers
in some quarters that they are not very reliable. What can you tell
us about that?

Jega: In Nigeria, you’ll hear all sorts of things. The card readers are
viable, have been tested, piloted and demonstrated in many
stakeholder meetings. We had meetings with religious leaders where
we used the card readers. Those that had their cards, we tested it.
We had the same meeting with traditional rulers and tested it. Many
have tested. We’ve done the same in Katsina, Kano and we’re
continuously testing the card reader. Although there’re some
fingerprints it can’t read, but that’s not a problem because the
guidelines for the elections have addressed the issue of what is to
be done if the card reader fails.

Given the test results that we have, it’s highly unlikely that a card
reader would fail, but it’s still a possibility. So we’ve taken
decisions. If a card reader fails at a given polling unit or voting
point, we should be able, as INEC, to replace it during the period of
accreditation and that period is between 8am and 1pm. If within that
period, as you’re accrediting people a card reader fails, INEC would
do everything possible and we have enough card readers to
decentralise in the event of a problem and quickly replace.

The card reader would bring substantial credibility to the electoral
process and eliminate any fraudulent activity of the past. For
example, only a card produced and issued by INEC can be read by
the card reader. So if somebody goes and tries to clone a card, he
may succeed in making it look like an INEC card, but it can’t be read
by our card reader. If somebody buys cards off people and gives it
to others to vote, it can’t be read, because it’ll be clear that it’s not
their card and their fingerprints would certainly be rejected. Also,
observers would be there. The card reader even has a voice and
would say ‘verification passed’ or ‘failed’ to the hearing of people
around. If parties have agents and observers are there and it says
‘verification failed’, if they allow somebody like that to be accredited
then it means there’s total connivance by everybody in that polling
unit. Now we’ve made it very clear: If you snatch a card, you can’t
use it. If you buy cards, you can’t use them. So we believe that the
use of card reader would add immense value to the entire electoral
process.

WT: Some Nigerians are unable to travel long distances to collect
their PVCs due to one hindrance or the other. What can be done for
such people?

Jega: They have to make the sacrifices – this is where political
parties come in, unity leaders or good Samaritans to assist people
and make it easier for them to collect their cards. We operate on a
budget. So we do our best. When we started the distribution, in
every polling unit where people have registered, for three days, we
took the cards to those polling units. Within those days, if
everybody who had registered had come out they would have
collected all their cards. After three days, we can’t afford to keep
people at the polling units, because we’re using Youth Corpers and
other people. They’re paid every day and we can’t do it indefinitely.
We have to recognise there are challenges, but we do our best to
produce the cards and to make them available.

WT: You just admitted that some cards are yet to be produced.
What is the problem?

Jega: It’s simple. Up till the middle of December, we were doing
Continuous Voter’s Registration (CVR). In fact, up till last Sunday,
we were doing CVR in Minna. So, conceivably, you can only produce
their cards after you finish CVR. Any state where we did CVR in late
November, early December, we’re still producing the cards for the
distribution.

So there were issues, but the key points I’m emphasising are that
we’ve a schedule for the completion of the production and delivery
of these cards and we believe that anybody who has registered will
be able to have his cards produced and ready for collection well
before the February 14th election.

WT: You spoke about running on a budget. Media reports have it
that the funds you’re supposed to use for the election have not
been released...

Jega: In my earlier response to a question, I said Nigerians are
given to speculation. And I’m not putting journalists on the spot,
but some carry whatever is out there without investigation. As I
speak to you, the entire funding required for the conduct of the 2015
general elections has been provided and is in our custody.

WT: In the North-East where there are security challenges, the
services of youth corpers have been withdrawn. What provision is
INEC making to make up for that?

Jega: Even when we used the NYSC, they did it on voluntary basis.
Corp members are never compelled to do election duties and since
2011, we use them where they are enough. Where they’re not, we
use students at the senior level in tertiary institutions to
compliment. If there’re states where they aren’t present, we
normally make arrangements to move some to these states. So, the
methodology we’ve been using since 2011 would come in handy. If
we don’t have Corp members in any state, we make use of the staff
available.

In every state, there are students in federal and tertiary institutions.
We try to avoid using students in state institutions because it may
be misunderstood. People may start making accusations or
allegations that state governments can control the institutions, even
though control over the institution doesn’t mean control over
individual students that’ll do this work.

We’ve already made constituencies of the Corp members. For
example, now, we’re even opening it up to those who have rounded
off service with previous experience in election duty. We’ve their
records and they’ve done it well and maybe they don’t still have
jobs and are just out there.

WT: What is your reaction to the insistence of the APC leadership
that results be announced at polling units?

Jega: We’ve always been announcing results at the polling units
since 2011. In fact, it’s INEC that first suggested that voters can stay
and observe the coalition of results while they’re counted. So,
frankly, this is something we’ve been doing and the statistics have
been improving. When we did the 2011 election, the reports we
received from observers and other people is that in 72% of the
polling units, posters that we gave, where results should be written
and pasted were used.

Last part of the things observers were saying was that the 2011
general elections was one of the best in the history of our country.
Because if there’re observers and party agents that are up and
doing, then it’s very easy to have the evidence from each polling
unit that can be traced to whether results have been changed along
the way. By the time we did Ekiti and Osun election, posters were
pasted in almost 97% of the polling units. So, we’re doing a
transparent election and we’ll keep on improving leading to the
upcoming election.

WT: The House of Reps recently passed a motion that with or
without PVCs, individuals should be allowed to vote with their
temporary cards. What is your take on that?

Jega: We’re doing everything possible to ensure that people vote
with PVCs in this election. Using them would be a remarkable
improvement for the integrity of the electoral process. We’ll do
everything possible to ensure that happens. Yes, we’ve read about
the motion that has been passed. To be honest, it’s only what I read
or heard in the news. We in INEC can’t start taking decisions on the
basis of what we read in the newspapers or what we’ve heard.
We’ve already requested for a copy of the motion so we can study it
and then see whether there are certain issues that we need to bring
to the attention of those who made that motion. But we’ll cross that
bridge when we get to it.

WT: How about a state like Borno, wherein there are a certain
number of local governments now unavailable to the electorate, so
to speak. How would a gubernatorial election hold in such a place?
Jega: We’re doing everything possible to create opportunities for
the displaced persons in those places to be able to vote. We’ve set
up a task force which has made recommendations that have been
accepted by the Commission and we have worked out an action
plan on our timeline for displaced persons that are still in those
states, to be able to vote. We may not be able to go to Chibok, for
example, if the security situation doesn’t allow it. But we may be
able to create opportunities for Chibok people who’re in Maiduguri
to be able to vote.

We’re proposing a high-level stakeholder meeting for next Tuesday,
the 20th so that we’ll present our plan for making it possible for
displaced persons to vote. Once we get them to understand what
we’re planning to do and accept it, then we’ll speedily implement it.
We believe doing so will reduce the number of people who may not
be able to vote and also reduce the chances of not being able to
make a return in the governorship election in each of those states.

WT: What is going to be the fate of those IDPs who are not in their
states, either with the availability of their PVCs or not?

Jega: It’s unfortunate. If you’re not there, it’s practically impossible
for INEC to go outside the states to organise voting for people. We
should be realistic. We can’t cater for everybody, but we’ll do our
best to cater for as many people as possible and we believe that
from what we’ve heard and seen. There’re still more IDPs in those
states than those who’ve gone out. What we’re doing is what will
minimise the problem. It may not solve them, but at least it’ll
minimise them. We’ve to remain positive. Rather than doing
nothing, we’re trying to do something.

WT: The upcoming elections will be the last for you as INEC boss.
What would you say has been your biggest frustration on the job?
Jega: My biggest frustration is the fact that we’re unable, not
unwilling, to do sufficient voter education and public enlightenment.
Because a lot of challenges we confront are based on inadequacy of
information, public enlightenment and sensitisation. We’ve done our
best, but there were constraints and limitations. Considering the
size and population of Nigeria, it’s very expensive to do a successful
voter education, especially with the rate of illiteracy. Regrettably,
other stakeholders have a role, because this isn’t just the business
of INEC alone, even though the law says we should do it. Political
parties have a major role, but they aren’t doing it. Organisations like
the National Orientation Agency are supposed to do it.

Unfortunately, they’ve their own constraints of funding in particular
and they’re unable.

WT: Has INEC received any formal petition on the recent re-
deployment of Regional Electoral Commissions (RECs) and would
the commission act on them?

Jega: First of all, we decided to postpone the creation of additional
polling units, even though we believed very strongly that it was the
right thing to do and we had the time to do it before election.
Because my intention was misunderstood, whether deliberately or
inadvertently and some vested interests tried to use it to create
division, not only nationally, but even within the commission, they
tried to use it to further muddy the electioneering process and what
want is peaceful and credible conduct of the election.

The objective of creating polling units is to make it easier to vote
and we already had a system of making it easier for voters using
what we call voting point. We just wanted to put away that
administrative arrangement so that we can have properly
demarcated permanent polling units, because the existing polling
units were created in 1996 and things have changed since then.
Right now, we’ve many polling units that have more than one
thousand people and even one with over six thousand people. You
and I know that given the procedure we have for the election, even if
it’s a come-and-vote procedure, there’s no way such a huge number
can vote in a single polling unit. So we decided to remain focused.
Our key objective is to deliver free, fair and credible elections.

People are trying to use the issue of polling unit creation to even
raise questions about the integrity of the election long before it’s
conducted, so we quit the issue. It means that voters would still be
slightly inconvenienced, but we’ll continue to use the administrative
measures we’ve used by creating voting points in order to make it
easier. After the 2015 general elections, then the commission has to
come back and face the issue of, not just the creation of polling
units, but even addressing constituency limitation.

WT: After the elections, how do you intend to cap-off?

Jega: A vacation is obviously a starting point. It’s going to be a
period of reflection and contemplation. But I’m looking forward to
going back to do what I know how to do best, which is lecturing in
the university.

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