2019: We will tackle vote buying ―INEC

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Monday that it would tackle the scourge of vote buying during the 2019 general elections.

Chairman of the Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who stated this while appearing before a joint sitting of the Senate and House of Representatives committees on INEC, which hosted a public hearing on vote buying, said that the Commission is putting stringent measures on ground to prevent vote buying within the precincts of the 119, 917 polling units across the country.

He also said that the newly introduced dry ink rolled up ballot papers would also help tackle vote buying.

Also on Monday, the electoral body declared that usage of photographic devices within the voting cubicles would not be allowed as it did during the governorship election in Osun state recently.

At the public hearing titled: “Vote Buying and Improving Electoral Processes in Nigeria,” organised by the National Assembly joint committee on INEC, the INEC boss said that one of the measures to be used to prevent the menace of votes buying and selling was the introduction of dry ink ballot papers expected to be rolled up by voters before coming out from the voting cubicle .

The ballot papers he explained, are designed in a way that when rolled up, thump printed ink on any of the party logo by any voter will not stain any of the other logos.

He said: “We are coming up with this initiative to prevent voters who are fond of showing the party they voted for to agents of votes buyers before dropping their ballot papers into the ballot box.

“Before the elections, we are planning to carry out serious sensitisation or voters’  education on the new ballot papers in ensuring compliance by all the voters.”

Prof Mahmood added that as it was done in Osun governorship election, photographic devices like mobile phones will not be allowed to be taken into the voting cubicles along with ballot papers by any voter to prevent snapping of whatever party they voted for.

He further said “This practice as advanced as democracy and electoral processes are in the United States of America, are currently being carried out and strictly adhered to, in 18 out of the 50 states there.

“If we must get it right as far as free, fair and credible elections are concerned, the menace of votes buying and selling particularly within the radius of polling units must be tackled and not must not be allowed to define our elections.

“It is unacceptable, it is illegal, it is undemocratic, morally repugnant and enthrones unaccountable leadership on the citizenry aside giving the Nation bad name internationally.

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“We must all condemn the practice even though it has been with us for a very long time.”

He also stated that INEC would not allow issuance of incidence forms during the 2019 elections as according to him, the new measures being introduced take care of voters whose thumbs are not captured by card readers.

In their opening remarks, Senate President Bukola and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara, tasked INEC and security agencies to ensure that the forthcoming elections are free, fair and credible in all ramifications.

Saraki in his speech said that INEC has a duty to better its records of 2015. He said that INEC, having set an enviable record in the 2015 general elections, the country cannot afford to lower the standards in 2019.

He said: “We must up the ante because whatever we do will have an impact on the continent and serve as a representation of Africa on the global stage.”

He added that vote buying and election rigging, remain contemporary challenges that mar the nation’s electoral process adding: “We must deal with them in such a manner that does not detract from the credibility and legitimacy of the coming 2019 Polls.”

Dogara in his own remarks stated that menace of votes buying and selling in our electoral processes are threatening the nation’s democracy with unmitigated disaster because according to him,  electoral fraud is the worst form of corruption anywhere in the world.