The last lap of the 2019 rescheduled general election takes place today with the governorship and state assembly elections. The first in the series were the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday, February 23, 2019.
Each of the elections was postponed by one week by the umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) due to what it termed logistic and other problems. Today, INEC is also conducting re-run elections in Aguata and Idemili North and South federal constituencies for House of Representatives seats, which it declared inconclusive two weeks ago.
The governorship election will hold in all the states in Nigeria, except Anambra, Edo, Bayelsa, Osun, Ekiti, Kogi and Ondo, following staggered nature of such elections, pursuant to Supreme Court judgment. INEC had conducted elections in the seven states and have to wait for 4 years as provided in the 1999 constitution, as amended, before another governorship election will be conducted there.
In the twenty-nine states, one thousand and sixty-eight candidates were cleared to contest the governorship elections, while fourteen thousand, six hundred and forty-three candidates are vying for house of assembly election across the country. Today, about seventy-two million registered Nigerian voters are supposed to cast their votes in various parts of the country.
According to INEC, over one million electoral personnel, including four hundred thousand Corps Members have been deployed for the exercise, while adequate election materials for all polling centres and voting points were distributed. Similarly, the Police deployed over three hundred thousand personnel for the elections, just as other security agencies have vowed to ensure water tight security in all parts of the country.
Also, INEC accredited one hundred and forty-four Observer Groups to monitor the conduct of the elections across the country. These measures are wonderful and commendable, only if they translate to free, fair and credible polls where a winner shall be seen by all to have genuinely won. When a winner emerges through transparent and credible contest, it does not take time for the loser to accept defeat and congratulate the winner. However, when a contest is compromised, it does not only enthrone bitterness and rancour but leads to excessive spending through litigation and other legal means to redress the perceived injustice.
For any country to establish legitimate and globally acceptable government, there must be free, fair and credible elections, which are measured by what happened before, during and after the polls. Though, no man’s endeavour is ever perfect, however, political observers are of the opinion that the last Presidential and National Assembly elections were fraught with avoidable hiccups.
They include late arrival of men and materials, malfunctioning of card readers, violence, delayed announcement of results, hurried engagement of untrained ad hoc workers, missing of names in the voter’s lists among others. These should not be allowed to repeat. Statistics show that less than thirty per cent of the registered voters participated in the last election. This is not healthy for our democracy.
Therefore, as voters exercise their franchise in today’s polls, there should be adequate security of lives, property and voting materials. The security should however not be intimidating or vindictive. There should be an open environment for the citizens to participate in the electoral process without obstruction, fear or intimidation.
For any election to be credible, all stakeholders should obey the rules governing the process. Therefore, there is need for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to remain independent, transparent, impartial and neutral in the conduct of the elections. It must eschew acts that could cast doubt in the outcome of the polls. Electorate, party agents and other stakeholders should conduct themselves in mature manner to ensure win-win for all.
No one should do anything that will truncate the process. Politicians should not allow their followers to take the law into their hands. This is a period when many politicians equip some of their followers with illicit drug and arms. This should not be. Politicians who want to use thugs in this election should go and engage their children first. They should know that no political position can be equated with the blood or life of any one. Elections must come and go and could be held again in the next four years, but once one is maimed or loses his or her life, that is the end of the story.
Youths should shun corruption, election malpractice and brigandage. Politicians should know that everybody must not win in any contest; there must be a winner and a loser. We should be magnanimous in victory and gracious in defeat.
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