Bola Badmus – Lagos
The #FixPolitics Initiative, led by Tony Ubani, on Thursday accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of violating the trust of Nigerians after it reportedly failed to pass the Bimodal Voter Authentication System (BVAS) to the 2023 uploaded to its portal the results of the general election on 25 February 2009) in real time, as promised by the election umpire ahead of the election.
Ubani, executive director of #FixPolitics, expressed this concern in a statement provided to journalists in Lagos, saying INEC was unprepared for the polls held last weekend.
Urbani pointed to repeated assurances by commission officials that they were ready to deploy the BVAS for the vote but did not deliver, and said such treachery fueled popular resentment against INEC and questioned the integrity of the vote and its impact on the polls. Impact. the whole process.
“In a press conference in November 2022, INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu – aware of growing public concerns about the Commission’s sincerity, transparency and commitment to credible elections in which citizens’ votes will be respected – addressed The Nigerians assured that the commission would upload the results of the vote to the polling station’s portal immediately after voting, adding that citizens would have access to these results in real time,” he recalled.
According to the head of the #FixPolitics Initiative, the performance and controversy of the results means electoral reform and the lessons it claims to have learned have not been applied, showing that INEC as an electoral body is far less prepared than it claims to be.
It was this assurance and several others from INEC that built confidence among Nigerians to register for a Permanent Voter Card (PVC), Urbani said, adding that it was because of this confidence that voters went out enthusiastically. Vote for election day, though for those who have to travel, access to cash and high transport costs can be a huge challenge.
“The public has even accepted the extra burden of closing higher education institutions as part of a reciprocal sacrifice to INEC’s guarantee that the vote will work. Many have returned from overseas to exercise citizenship in the hope that the process will be transparent, free and that their votes will be counted ,” Urbani said.
He lamented that since the February 25 election, the country has been flooded with reports, complaints and protests from citizens, candidates, party officials, civil society organisations, media, local and international observers and well-meaning Nigerians.
“The failure of INEC and the widespread delay in the opening of polling stations meant that voters who showed up early to polls were frustrated, with many voters and INEC staff unable to find their polling stations for hours.
“While there were mixed voices dissenting from the election results, most had three specific complaints: INEC’s failure to upload the presidential election results, especially in real time, to the INEC results viewing portal and its refusal to upload the presidential election results; the complete lack of transparency of the INEC process; and the failure to adhere to its own regulations and processes,” he said.
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