Again, elections of blood, logistic hitches

Flowing from the sudden and embarrassing last minute suspension of the February 16 presidential and National Assembly elections, all eyes were on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to get the logistics right last Saturday. With confirmation and reconfirmation of its readiness by the commission’s chairman, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, it appeared INEC was really good to go, some 24 hours before the D-Day. And before the election proper, threats of violence had been a constant indication ahead of the polls. A number of states had been signposted as hotbeds of possible crisis during the elections. Teams of local and international observers had alerted the nation to the possibility of violence in states of the South as well as some parts of the North.

The hoopla created by the sudden postponement and the security alert (that tended towards the extreme) issued by President Muhammadu Buhari gave everyone the hint that all will be well, not just with INEC, which would be striving to save its name, but as well as with the security agencies which will also be moving to prevent the predicted Armageddon.

But the elections showed that neither INEC, nor the security agencies really got their tactics right. In locations across the country, logistic problems made the elections some nightmare. Reports across locations in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, which is also the seat of the electoral commission, indicated that polls didn’t start earlier than 9am at the best of venues. In most places, 10.00am was the starting point, while some waited till 11am before sighting INEC officials.

In places that are as close to the city centre as Asokoro, Maitama, Gwarinpa and Apo Legislative Quarters, INEC officials showed up late with materials. James Itodo, Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, a civil society group which was also involved in election monitoring, said on Saturday that the group was told that members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) held INEC to ransom in Abuja, alleging that they insisted on being paid ahead of the service they were to render. He added that the strike by NURTW members was responsible for the delayed polls in Gwagwalada and Abaji axis.

But the delay inside the Abuja city centre was unmistakable. Besides the delay, the election threw up some confusion that would continue to question the use of card readers for elections. Most voters could not have their fingers captured by the card readers, while in several instances, the cards failed to authenticate the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

In several instances, many of those who transferred their PVCs to new locations were disenfranchised and were made to suffer double jeopardises. It is either the names disappeared from the voter’s register or the card reader could not authenticate the PVCs or both. Thus, despite the push for simultaneous accreditation and voting by INEC, vote casting, sorting and counting dragged well into the night.

In all, despite the enthusiasm displayed by first time voters, hitches by the electoral body failed most of them. The situation appeared worst in the area of security, as no fewer than 20 persons reportedly lost their lives across the country at the close of the polls on Saturday. Six were officially confirmed to have been killed in some parts of Rivers State; three were said to have died at different polling units at Okota, Lagos State where some thugs attacked a polling unit, burning down ballot papers and election materials; there were three deaths also recorded in Sapele, Delta State; another two deaths were recorded in Bayelsa and Kogi states, while there were one deaths in Zamfara and Oyo states, respectively. A day before the election, two persons were killed during a clash between supporters of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ebonyi State.

In Ondo State, more than 3,000 voters were denied the opportunity of exercising their voting right as thugs, suspected to be hired agents and supporters of a political party in the state prevented the election from taking place in Omififun, a rustic community in Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency of Ondo State.

According to a report, the suspected party thugs got to the community early on Saturday morning and they started shooting sporadically and thus scared and prevented the INEC officials and the ad hoc staff deployed to the community from commencing the electoral process. It was gathered that there was no security agent within the vicinity while the evil men perpetrated their nefarious act.

While no single death was recorded in Ondo State during the election, there were reported cases of voting buying, some 24 hours before the commencement of the exercise and ballot box snatching in some polling units in Idanre while the conduct of the election lasted.

The spate of violence in the states forced INEC to postpone elections in the affected parts of Lagos, Rivers and Anambra states. While announcing the postponement of the poll on Saturday, INEC’s National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, Mr Festus Okoye, stated that the violence unleashed on the locations necessitated the call for fresh polls.

He said: “The commission has received reports of violence and ballot box snatching in some areas leading to the disruption of the process. We have asked the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) and the Electoral Officials (Eos) on ground to submit their first-hand reports in relation to some of these incidents. We are still receiving reports relating to incidences in some states of the federation, but we have received reports relating to incidences in Akuku-Toru and Bonny local government areas of Rivers State.

“So long as the commission could not deploy in these areas, the implication is that voting did not take place in those areas and the commission will hold consultations with the relevant authorities and the RECs in relation to these areas and will announce the date when polls will take place in some of these areas, especially in relation to the areas as they affect the House of Representatives and senatorial elections. It is not only in Rivers that we had reports of burning of electoral materials. We have such reports from Anambra and Lagos states as well as some other places.”

A preliminary assessment of the situation provided by one of the key situation rooms set up for the 2019 election, the Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), highlighted a number of hitches which combined to hurt voters on election day. While presenting the report early on Sunday, Acting Executive Director of the CTA, Faith Nwadishi, said, whereas INEC deserved commendations in some areas, the commission needed to look at a number of recommendations by the coalition of civil society groups whose team covers the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

Nwadishi noted: “We commend Nigerians for their determination for ensuring the success of the elections. We also note that there were challenges and difficulties in most parts of the country. We salute every Nigerian for braving the odds in spite of the difficulties. Recognising the challenges which culminated in the suspension of the elections of 16 February, we commend the leadership of INEC for the frameworks and mechanisms it put in place within a very short time in ensuring that election held yesterday (Saturday).”

According to the group, reports from its team in all the states of the federation indicated that the election was marred by challenges ranging from late arrival of materials and personnel, malfunctioning card readers, shortage of sensitive and non-sensitive materials, pockets of violence in some states, resulting in killings and disruption of voting, missing names of registered voters from the electoral register and poor management of RACS (Registration Area Centres) on the polling day.

The report of the CTA, which is already made available to INEC and other election stakeholders further specifically touch on aspects of the election thus:

Time of arrival of INEC officials and materials

“There were widespread reports of late arrival of materials and personnel across the country, even though the RACs were activated a night before. From our observation, this was due to lack of poor deployment of materials and personnel to various places. There were cases of just one vehicle servicing different locations across areas like was experienced in Abuja, Zamfara, Bayelsa, Cross River and Delta, especially in the riverine communities. On the average, in most places voting didn’t commence until between 10 and 10:30am.

“The logistical problems turned out to be logistical nightmare in many areas across the country. At the start of the poll, we observed that polling units that ought to have commenced accreditation by 8am were either not manned by ad hoc officials or were receiving accreditation materials when accreditation ought to have started. In many polling units across the country, there were no discernible tents, shortages of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials including some areas in the FCT, South-West, South-South, South-East North-East and the North-West.

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“In addition, there were cases of malfunctioning card readers. In most cases, INEC was able to respond in a timely manner to either fix the problem or replace such malfunctioning card readers. However, we noted that in certain cases, voters with PVCs could not find their names on the voters register and ended up being disenfranchised.”

Time of arrival and presence of security agents

“In most of the polling units where our observers were deployed, reports from observers indicated early arrival of security personnel at the polling units. It was observed that in most parts of the country, security agencies were also deployed and present at the polling units. However, we observed during the elections that areas identified by ICRC as flash points had light presence of security agencies.”

Deployment and conduct of the Armed Forces

“The conduct of men of the armed forces deployed to flash points to ensure the security of lives and properties leaves much to be desired. In many instances, men of the armed forces left their primary responsibilities and became participants in the electoral process. Cases of such involvement in the electoral process were reported in places like Rivers, Bayelsa and Yobe states.

“Also, there were cases of men of the armed forces preventing election observers performing their legitimate duties, even after proper identification. In some cases, we had reports of voters being turned away from accessing their polling booths as was reported in the riverine areas of Delta State where water ways were blocked.”

Voters’ determination and enthusiasm

“In spite of the challenges encountered and the earlier postponement of the elections, voters turned out in large numbers with determination and enthusiasm. It was heartening to see that, irrespective of their political views, voters took this civic duty seriously. Nigerians once again showed their determination to ensure the sustenance of democracy.

Performance/conduct of INEC officials

“While INEC generally displayed dedication, we observed that some of them were still grappling with a basic understanding of their roles as well as the capacity to operate the card readers. We also note, with concern, few cases of INEC officials conniving with politicians to sabotage the electoral process. For example in parts of Imo State, INEC officials connived with politicians to withhold electoral materials thereby preventing the elections from holding. We commend the quick response of the INEC Chairman in arresting the situation and ordering the arrest of the erring officials.

Performance/conduct of security agencies

“We observe that, in many cases, security agencies were slow in responding to security breaches. This led to situation were citizens were left with no option than to resort to self-help. This is a call to anarchy.”

Conduct of political parties

“We note with concern the unrelenting desperation of the political class and political parties in undermining the electoral process. The perchance for the use of political thugs, vote buying and the predilection for compromising the security agencies have all combined to pose serious threats to the political process by the political class/political parties.”

Violence

“We also note with concern, the reported killings in parts of the country. There were reports of killings by soldiers in Rivers, Bayelsa and Yobe states. Other cases of killings were also reported in Kogi, Bornu, Ebonyi, Delta, Zamfara and Oyo states.”

The coalition of observer team praised majority of Nigerians who braced the odds that confronted them during the elections and ensured they peacefully partook in the polls with determination and enthusiasm. It further commended INEC for the simultaneous accreditation and voting system adopted at the polls which it said contributed to the largely peaceful situation across the states.

One thing has however emerged as a result of the conduct of the polls, despite the fact that the nation’s democracy is growing in age, with the Fourth Republic almost 20 years old, the operators at the level of the Election Management Board, the political actors and the security agencies are not growing in experience. The do-or-die nature of the politicians and the choreographed partisanship displayed by security agents over the years have become perennial, some dangers that had to be nipped in the bud.