Election battles have become more competitive, says INEC

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has defended the commission’s decision to declare the recent governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states inconclusive.

He said the inconclusiveness of the elections was a reflection of the competitiveness of elections in the country.

Yakubu argued that elections were getting better and this could be the reason it was becoming difficult to have a clear-cut winner immediately.

He added that the use of the card reader for elections had come to stay in spite of the hitches experienced in the use of the device in the 2015 polls.

He insisted that the process of declaration of winners of election, as contained in the electoral laws, would never be compromised.

While the Kogi election had been concluded, the commission has yet to fix a date for the supplementary poll in Bayelsa State.

Yakubu spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at the 11th public lecture of The Electoral Institute titled, ‘Between refuge and rights: internally displaced persons and inclusive electoral process in Nigeria’.

Speaking on the inconclusive elections, the INEC chairman said, “The truth is that our elections are getting better, they are also becoming competitive.

“By the same token, citizens are now more confident that the votes really count. INEC will continue to ensure that the credibility of our elections remain sacrosanct.

“Acts of thuggery, ballot box snatching, wilful violation of guidelines and deliberate acts that void the card reader will always attract sanctions.”

He explained that in one of the states, where governorship election was conducted in 2012, the margin between the winner and the runner-up was 417,000 votes.

“But today, the margin is 33,000 votes, which indicates that the election is getting better and more competitive,” he added.

Yakubu noted that the commission, under his watch, had conducted four elections including two state assembly elections in Plateau and Katsina states.

“We are satisfied with the processes and procedures as well as the conduct of the elections. We have no major problem with the deployment of logistics and personnel for the elections,” he stated.

He, however, admitted that the commission had encountered some problems in the operation and configuration of the smart card readers with particular respect to the biometric authentification of voters.

The INEC chairman said although the reported cases were not substantial enough to mar the elections, the commission was determined to ensure “that we address these challenges in future elections at whatever level they might occur.”

He said the problems might be at the level of technology, staff training and handling of equipment by electoral officials.

Yakubu added, “We welcome suggestions from Nigerians at large in this regard, bearing in mind that the smart card reader is still a technology in its pioneering stage in our elections but has already revolutionised our electoral process.

“We have already received reports from Bayelsa that some people are saying they can’t vote without the card readers. It is part of the process that has revolutionised our elections and it has come to stay.

“And whatever we will do to make it better, we will do so.”

He insisted that the process of declaration of winners of elections, as contained in the party’s guidelines, would never be compromised.

“At the same time, the call for the emergence of winners of elections, as contained in our guidelines, will never be compromised. While the fresh poll is not met, we will apply the provision of the guidelines as had been applied in the past,” he said.

He told the gathering that inconclusive elections were not without precedence in the country, saying INEC had in the past declared elections inconclusive to ensure the credibility of the process.

He recalled that the electoral umpire had declared elections inconclusive in Taraba, Imo, Anambra and other states.

PUNCH.