•How political parties can rescue the process

•The helplessness of INEC

By Jide Ajani


The general elections of February/March, 2019, may have been insinuated into the sphere of jeopardy, if President Muhammadu Buhari’s refusal to grant assent to the amended Electoral Act stands.

This is not because President Buhari is set to directly cripple the electioneering process. However, it is because the amended Act, which packs within it some provisions which are expected to detoxify the old version, may not see the light of day.

The vacillation of Mr. President over the amended Electoral Act, which climaxed on Friday, December 6, 2018, some 72 days to the general elections which will commence with the Presidential and Federal legislative elections on February 16, 2019, with the President returning the amended version to the National Assembly, unsigned, raises concerns of possible disruptions to the elections, if legal changes are introduced so close to the election. But very mean political observers view this rejection as a corruption of the process.

According to this school of thought, if you examine the definitions of corruption as described by the World Bank (WB) and Transparency international (TI), the vacillations and rejection of the amended Electoral Act, under shallow pretenses, is a form of corruption. To explicate the latter position, the WB defines corruption as a situation where “public office is abused for private gain”; while TI describes corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.

Some believe that the rejection is only a ploy to avoid the use of the Card Reader and thereby instigate electoral fraud and chaos in the coming general elections. They, therefore – probably, rightly so – see the rejection as a major set-back for the Card Reader and the gains made by Professor Attahiru Jega’s INEC and the electoral system for ensuring election integrity. Beyond the Card Reader, is the very significant issue of the transmission of results.

The amended Act provides penalties for a refusal to transmit, just as the direct transmission of results to the cental point immediately after counting at every polling unit knocks off the possibility of collusion or conspiracy to collude.

While those who support the President aver that rather than corruption for personal gain, the President was only being careful to avoid legal and political tardiness, a counter-intuitive position insists that it was a tragedy that the demand by Nigerians for presidential assent to the amendment has been jettisoned and in its place the President has voted for the type of chaos and governance uncertainty that befell the APC Primaries where everyone was allowed to choose their own laws for conducting primaries while the party determined arbitrarily which of the outcomes it chose to abide with, to a ridiculous game that will mar rather than improve the integrity of elections.

Anyone following the Presidents preferences since coming to power may easily predict the current outcome. From the President’s suspected initial preference to appoint his Sisters step-daughter, Mrs Amina Zakari, as the Chairperson of INEC, only to perish the thought when public pressure became too much to bear, to the type of outcomes elections conducted under this regime has produced, there are those who, rightly or wrongly, express anxiety at the type of electoral configuration that is in the offing.

From what has happened so far, it may not be too difficult to come to the disturbing conclusion that the President may either be blatantly unconcerned with integrity or ethics when the matter of election is at issue, or some individuals within the Presidency are the ones pulling the strings in the name of President Muhammadu Buhari.

This conjures a very strange, nostalgic feeling when interfaced with the fact that the present administration is a beneficiary of the electoral reforms – albeit imperfect – engendered by Jega. However, when pitched against the recent statement of the very progressive-minded First Lady, Aisha Buhari, that two or three individuals are the ones drawing back the progress of this administration, it would, therefore, be safe to conclude that the individuals are now set to draw back the progress of the generality of Nigerians for their own selfish ends, using the instrumentality of the legally defective old Electoral Act for the 2019 general elections Despite the excuses given for returning the Bill to the National Assembly, the actions of the Presidency, prior to this anti-climax, appeared to have betrayed its reluctance to face a general elections under an improved Electoral Act.

Describing the early signs of the reluctance that the President raised concerns of spelling errors, as reasons for earlier refusal to sign the last two versions sent to him, even though the perceived fear was the Card Reader which makes rigging on a large scale problematic, it still beguiles the mind. For instance, the joint collegiate approach to accommodate the concerns of all was adopted and everybody came on board to develop a widely accepted document as the draft electoral legislative framework.

Further more, it was the Senate Committee, representatives of the Executive, led by the Presidential liaison officer, Senator lta Enag, along with other aides, as well as members of civil society, that all jointly worked together to review the expressed concerns of everyone, which were addressed in the improved document that was again returned by the President.

Very competent sources disclosed to Sunday Vanguard that after the necessary adjustments were made, the collegial copy’s final cleaned-up draft was again given to the Presidential team in advance to review, just in case there were still further concerns. Shockingly, none was raised; before it was officially, finally, transmitted.

The presidency accepted it after examining and evaluating the advanced copy suggesting that it was okay with it. The President’s excuses for returning the amended copy is only a pretext that appears to lack weight, when weighed against the potential overall benefits.

The reality is that this Presidency appears to be a front for a few power brokers who are afraid that their gravy train is reaching the terminus. And this amended Electoral Act, which is a legislative bill, is a reminder of that terminus. They appear to be the ones reading the Electoral Act and telling the President not to sign or approve it.

Whereas those opposed to the Electoral Act as amended may have a false sense of security in trying to operate an electoral regime that is fraught with uncertainties, they seem to have forgotten that they are not in a position to predict what may happen when things go sideways, as it did in Osun State, where the opposition’s candidate gave a good, very good fight, in spite of the disappointing roles, reportedly played by security agencies, acts corroborated by international observers and which also gave the electoral commission a black eye.

The APC Senate leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, gave an inkling of the type of Senate President he would have been when he openly supported the refusal of Mr. President to assent to the Bill, not minding the deficit this act will create for the needed progress in Nigeria’s march towards the enthronement of better election environment. Worse, Nigeria may be reaching a new low whereby a candidate in an election determines which laws to operate in an election he would participate, not minding the larger implications for other elections. But all hope is not lost.

The reason is that within President Buhari’s All Progressives Congress, APC, there are still individuals who are of the view that a better election environment bodes well for the generality of NIgerians with the eventual possibility of building a trully egaliterian society. By the same token, the plethora of political parties in the country can force the hands of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to sign a binding pact, that promulgates strict penalties for its staff who violates the intended virtue of transmitting results from polling units to the central collation point.

That way, even without the amended version of the Electoral Act, it would be diffult for staff of INEC not to abide by the simple rule of election results’ transmission. But as it is now, without the amended Act in place, staff of the Commission can choose to disregard the enviable provision for the transmission of results.

This would be a throwback to the ugly aspect of the 2015 election where the use of Card Reader was enforced in the observance in some parts of the country, while it was observed in the breach in other parts, thereby creating an uneven field of contest, a situation which the amended Act seeks to banish, but which Mr. President has refused to grant. It is in the place of the judiciary to determine and interpret which flaws may arise therefrom, and not an individual participating in an election determining which rules to follow. 2019 poll:

Just as President Buhari, in his own sphere of thought, has rightly expressed concerns regarding the timing, it should be stated for the records that former President Goodluck Jonathan, on March 26, 2015, just 48hours to the presidential election of that year (March 28, 2015), signed an amended version of the Electoral Act, which knocked of Section 52 of that version, which prohibited the use of electronic devise. It was that new signed version that gave gravitas to the efforts of the Jega-led Commission in its drive to conduct what has beecn described as a free and fair election, an election which brought in President Buhari.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/12/2019-general-elections-in-jeopardy-as-card-reader-loses-out-to-presidency/

According to this school of thought, if you examine the definitions of corruption as described by the World Bank (WB) and Transparency international (TI), the vacillations and rejection of the amended Electoral Act, under shallow pretenses, is a form of corruption. To explicate the latter position, the WB defines corruption as a situation where “public office is abused for private gain”; while TI describes corruption as “the abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.

Let me summarize the electoral bill. 2015 election was a big step forward from previous elections. However, there were some loopholes observed which enabled people to exploit the process. 75% of places where these loopholes were observed were places where Buhari won election in 2015. NASS has decided to seal these loopholes so we can have better credible elections, but Buhari has refused, giving flimsy excuses. He intends to exploit these loopholes again to win re-election. This is crazy! Democracy is supposed to be about the choice of the people, not the wish of the politicians. Buhari is a threat to Nigeria’ Democracy!

Transparency International slammed Buhari’s government as being more corrupt than previous governments before him. Here’s the proof:

https://www.nairaland.com/4883004/transparency-international-shows-corruption-worse

Buhari has become a clog in the wheel of progress in this country. A typical sit-tight African ruler. After benefiting form an improved electoral process, he wants to derail further improvement. US, UK and the UN should pressure him before he plunges us to avoidable chaos. We are still battling Boko Haram.

Say no to election rigging


Buhari must sign the electoral bill

Interesting months ahead

Sponsored article though

The so called Mr Integrity knows he has no chance without rigging but still on still Nigerians are sending him back to Niger,sorry I mean Daura!

Brown Envelop Journalism

Underage voting again?

Pres. Buhari is a fraud and a political coward. A clone or an impostor allegedly. I respect the office but not the Man.

#Richdad

• Section 18 amendment - Alter the time frame for replacement & issuance of the replacement voters card from 60 days before polling day to 30 days before polling day

Note - This was amended from 30 to 60 days in 2015 specifically to give INEC more time to focus on the election


At first, they removed card reader from the electoral bill, Buhari refused, they then removed counting of votes, Buhari refused...But it is Buhari that doesn't want free and fair election...Most of the people crying have not even read the so called amended EA �

NASS will veto the Presidency and pass the electoral amendments this week by God's grace.

Even a blind man can see APC is naturally in disarray, the saboteurs like Amosun and Co have not even started. Jubril can not even start campaigning. Osinbajo is just struggling to save face as he's now carrying out duties that should be done exclusively by Buhari.

dre11:
•How political parties can rescue the process

•The helplessness of INEC




https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/12/2019-general-elections-in-jeopardy-as-card-reader-loses-out-to-presidency/

What did you expect? SMH. You want Buhari not to use his underage almajiri without PVCs to win the election.

The NASS is the only hope now but with APC reps and senators not going against the party, that bill seems dead on arrival. As usual, our docile people will not vote such people against the two thirds majority to veto the bill out as payment for the consequences SMH.

I have given up on this country, just finding the money needed to go out. It will probably take a century, even more unfortunately, till our docile people start making our leaders accountable.

It is this hard during Buhari's first term, I shudder to think what will happen when (yes I said when because the 2019 elections will be highly rigged unfortunately even though I am Atikulated) he wins thee second term.

Time to get my visa out of this country by at most 2020.

socialmediaman:


Let me summarize the electoral bill. 2015 election was a big step forward from previous elections. However, there were some loopholes observed which enabled people to exploit the process. 75% of places where these loopholes were observed were places where Buhari won election in 2015. NASS has decided to seal these loopholes so we can have better credible elections, but Buhari has refused, giving flimsy excuses. He intends to exploit these loopholes again to win re-election. This is crazy! Democracy is supposed to be about the choice of the people, not the wish of the politicians. Buhari is a threat to Nigeria’ Democracy!

Transparency International slammed Buhari’s government as being more corrupt than previous governments before him. Here’s the proof:

https://www.nairaland.com/4883004/transparency-international-shows-corruption-worse

You’re saying nonsense.
Total nonsense

PDP should continue in shading shadow all their lives. They keep sponsoring people to write trash just to create confusion in the nation but they've failed .

PMB won't sign the bill, the national assembly should veto the president and let's see how serious and powerful they are.

The greatest problem I see in Nigeria today is the inability of people to call a spade a spade due to political affiliation, tribe/religion or self interest.

How long shall we continue to tread on this route simply because of our zeal to hold on to power?

Say no to threat of democracy!

socialmediaman:


Let me summarize the electoral bill. 2015 election was a big step forward from previous elections. However, there were some loopholes observed which enabled people to exploit the process. 75% of places where these loopholes were observed were places where Buhari won election in 2015. NASS has decided to seal these loopholes so we can have better credible elections, but Buhari has refused, giving flimsy excuses. He intends to exploit these loopholes again to win re-election. This is crazy! Democracy is supposed to be about the choice of the people, not the wish of the politicians. Buhari is a threat to Nigeria’ Democracy!

Transparency International slammed Buhari’s government as being more corrupt than previous governments before him. Here’s the proof:

https://www.nairaland.com/4883004/transparency-international-shows-corruption-worse

Greenland, gavelslam, deji17, sarrki, butterflyleo, com n do ya BMC work n defend ya buhari dullardino

That's why sometimes I consider democracy to be a fraud. The representatives of the people made a law, one man in the name of President refused to sign the said law for selfish reasons without regard for the will of the people.

sureheaven:
PDP should continue in shading shadow all their lives. They keep sponsoring people to write trash just to create confusion in the nation but they've failed .

PMB won't sign the bill, the national assembly should veto the president and let's see how serious and powerful they are.

And if they do now, u start shouting Saraki's name up n down.
Ur buhari is messed up n a disgrace

PDP already looking for excuses. Dem never see anything

It seems the president is afraid that he would lose if the use of Card reader is made mandatory

kings09:
Underage voting again?

Yes again! It is happening in the 2019 election without card reader use approved in the electoral act. Desperate Buhari won 2015 election on the back of underage voters, he is preparing to take advantage of it again.

Interesting times

kings09:


Greenland, gavelslam, deji17, sarrki, butterflyleo, com n do ya BMC work n defend ya buhari dullardino

Those ones are irredeemable SMH. For a morsel of bread, they don't care if the country burns! Sadly such people are in the majority in this country sigh.

Card reader, no card reader Buhari will still win. Never going back to Egypt.

Damn

why not pass the amended law and shame these ur naysayers by winning the 2019 elections freely and fairly...period.
just try it fa

dre11:
•How political parties can rescue the process

•The helplessness of INEC




https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/12/2019-general-elections-in-jeopardy-as-card-reader-loses-out-to-presidency/

Redress? Who wants to redress?
It's still Fulani in command after May, 29, 2019.

For PDP with Atiku, there is not much hurry to redress against president Buhari winning reelection.

Nigeria shall remain a country under quack carpenters for a long future.

Very uninspiring attempt to paint evil as good. Your badly written law that seeks to be grounds for confusion by stating results can be announced while removing the clause counted. .. can only be the way forward for crooks and criminals . More importantly we are a month or 2 away from elections why should there be this unholy rush to amen the electoral laws. Wasn't not this same useless body of lawmakers who went on recess thereby putting on hold the passage of FCT budet and other critical appointments?

Hypocritical bills by Saraki PDP will not be endorsed by APC.

kings09:


Greenland, gavelslam, deji17, sarrki, butterflyleo, com n do ya BMC work n defend ya buhari dullardino

First address the criminality introduced in the electoral act quoted in the picture below.

May all enemies of Nigeria never know peace including you.

You people keep ignoring the criminal inclusions in the electoral acts but wants to bamboozle the president into signing it.

Whoever supports that electoral amendment with the criminality below shall by the grace of Almighty God never experience peace till the end of his miserable life.