Generally speaking, elections are a
means of making political choices by voting. Through this process, a
leader or a representative is selected for the people. Election
literally means voters are presented with alternatives that they can
choose from. It is a major factor in the concept of democracy. In other
words, if an election is flawed, so is democracy.
Since the end of the military era in
1999, Nigerians have had four opportunities to elect new leaders, but on
each occasion, the processes ended in more controversies and civil
disturbances than the electorate bargained for. Many of the candidates
of the different political parties had challenged the results of the
elections in court or at tribunals, citing malpractices that could get
the elections nullified. Some succeeded in getting a re-run, others did
not. But the salient part is that some of the post-election
controversies and political restiveness could have been avoided if the
voters had adequate electoral education, and played their roles in the
elections.
One of the functions of political
parties is to educate the voters on the process of elections; they are
often complemented by activities of non-governmental organisations. The
pro-democracy groups were more vociferous in the military era, but sadly
they have inexplicably become silent, especially at this time when they
are most needed. Unfortunately also, the political parties have
resorted to throwing abuses at one another with the hope of discrediting
one another, but inadvertently confusing the voters.
A former Director General of Nigerian
Television Authority, Tony Iredia, said prior to the 2007 elections,
“the people must be assisted to premise their choices of rationality and
vote wisely during elections. They must have all information that is
needed to elect the right candidates who can ensure good governance.
Where such public awareness is lacking, those of us in the media must
accept a share of the blame of failed elections in Nigeria.”
The African Charter on Human and
People’s Right adopted in 1986 and ratified in July 1990, states among
others that, “every individual shall have the right to receive
information,… shall have the right to express and disseminate his
opinions within the laws”.
The Independent National Electoral
Commission has made several efforts in providing relevant information
about the elections to the voters, but its roles and those of the
security operatives in making the elections successful cannot be
over-emphasised. So, the onus of getting the best out of the forthcoming
elections lies with the electorate – the people to be governed and in
whom the power to elect new leaders resides.
The most important role of the voter is
to turn up for the elections. Apart from exercising his right to vote,
it is the voter’s constitutional duty to partake in the exercise. An
eligible voter who refuses to carry out this duty should have no right
to complain if the eventual results do not favour him.
Without the cooperation of the
electorate on the election days, the whole exercise would be in
futility. INEC cannot succeed if the voters decide to be impatient on
March 28 and April 11. Not only is the format of voting strange to
Nigerians, namely the use card readers, some people may not vote due to
unavailable Permanent Voter Cards. These could cause agitation at the
polling units. But with patience, the problems can be resolved. INEC on
its part should intensify the process of giving the PVCs to the voters
before the crucial dates.
If the electoral management body cannot
succeed without the voters’ cooperation, political parties seeking to
rig the elections will also fail without help from the voters. Electoral
malpractice at the polling units is only possible if the voters are
willing to go along with the illegality. Inasmuch as INEC has created
security checks in the voting process, the voters can render the checks
ineffective if they so wished. Therefore, voters must be vigilant and be
willing to assist the INEC officials at the polling units in ensuring
that no foreign ballot papers are smuggled in.
It is important for the voters to
understand how INEC will conduct the elections, that is, how to use the
PVC, the card reader and the ballot papers. They should endeavour to
know if the elections will be secret ballot system or open system. The
voters should rather not listen to the campaign of calumny by political
parties aiming to profit in the midst of confusion.
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