Unbundling INEC: Pathway to credible elections?

As more people call for the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as a way of ensuring the efficiency of the electoral umpire in future elections, YEJIDE GBENGA-OGUNDARE, in this piece brings forward the arguments of stakeholders on how unbundling INEC can improve the electoral system and help the body to deliver credible elections.

On October 22, the Senate, in a communiqué issued at the end of its retreat in Ikot Ikpene, Akwa Ibom State, called for the unbundling of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), predicating its call on the fact that this will improve the efficiency of the electoral body.

The Senate said categorically that “INEC should be unbundled to improve its efficiency and effectiveness in the preparation and conduct of elections” while it also resolved to make electronic transmission of results mandatory from the next general elections in 2027, including the uploading of polling unit-level results and result sheets used at different levels of result collation.

The second arm of government is not the first body to make this call. Indeed, this call by the Senate is in line with earlier submissions on the issue. In March, an observer group, Connected Development (CODE), said the manner in which the 2023 elections were conducted suggests the need for quick unbundling of INEC as its thorough review of the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections has revealed that INEC, as presently constituted, cannot deliver a credible election.

CODE made the assertion through its Chief Executive Officer, Hamzat Lawal, during the organisation’s post-election briefing in Abuja, adding that “Nigerian people will not enjoy the dividends of democracy until the unbundling of INEC as an institution. First, how do the chairman and national commissioners emerge? Most importantly, how do the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) also emerge? Who exactly are they answerable to? Today, what we have seen is that the institution as a whole and the people there has been compromised.

“The RECs are more of placeholders for corrupt politicians and mischief-makers. So, for us to get it right, we must unbundle this institution and make it truly independent,” he had asserted.

Also, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and the Inter-party Advisory Council (IPAC) have also demanded the unbundling of INEC for effectiveness and coverage of every aspect of elections while they also called for the amendment of the 2022 Electoral Act to provide for full electronic transmission of election results, adding that the present law gives INEC discretion when it comes to election results transmission.

They made the call at the Electoral Reform Roundtable with the theme: “Unpacking Nigeria’s 2023 General Election and Prospects for Electoral Reforms” organised by the Kofi Annan Foundation and Yiaga Africa.

The chairman of IPAC, an umbrella body of all political parties in Nigeria, Yabagi Sani, said Nigeria is too large for INEC to cover every aspect of elections. And while calling for the unbundling of INEC and the amendment of the Electoral Act, he said: “Elections are lost and won at the polling units, but to our surprise, elections were not counted at the polling units. The counting has always been the problem. Collation is as critical as the BVAS. I am glad that the Senate after their retreat resolved that election results transmission should be made mandatory.

“So, the legal framework they used was not what Nigerians were told. We were deceived by the law which needs to be amended and we should have other institutions that will work with INEC because the country is too big for INEC to cover in every aspect of elections,” he added.

On her part, the Country Director of Action Aid Nigeria and former head of Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, Ene Obi, described INEC’s performance in the last election as worrisome and called for a probe of how the commission expended the money released to it for civic education and electronic voting and transmission of results.

“So, we have to put more pressure on the lawmakers to amend the laws and INEC should also follow the law and their guidelines,” she said.

 

Talking about unbundling INEC after 15 years shows lack of commitment – Itodo

In reacting to the call for electoral amendment, the Executive Director of YIAGA Africa, Samson Itodo, said it’s frustrating that 15 years down the line, “the discussion about unbundling INEC, about strengthening the independence of the electoral commission is still on the table and it tells you one thing that all through the last 15 years, there was lack of commitment on the part of the political class especially those with a statutory responsibility to restructure our electoral process and give INEC the independence it deserves.”

Itodo who spoke on a television programme, described the majority of Nigeria’s political class as people who care about securing political power but with no regard for democratic principles and values, adding that, “They are looking for ways to hold institutions hostage so they can perpetrate themselves in office to use political power to either settle inter elite wars, primitive accumulation of wealth and then oppress the people. That’s one big lesson we’ve learned in the last 15 years.”

And on why he thinks it has been impossible for the National Assembly to put up a good electoral process for transparency, he said that the problem in the last three decades “is a conceptual problem. We conceive electoral reform as just amendment to the legal framework. So, we’ve spent a lot of time changing and amending the laws. It is part of the process but electoral reform needs to be situated within the broader context of democratic reforms because elections happen within a broader context, not in isolation of society.

“We need to broaden our conceptualisation of electoral reform. Also, politicians must change their attitude otherwise, we will engage in these cyclical reforms that will deliver nothing but ephemeral outcomes. If people spend billions buying delegates, killing, and buying their way into public office, how do we expect them to lead and govern rightly and advance public interest? The political elite need to see public office as service to the people and not an opportunity to oppress the people, or primitively accumulate wealth,” he added.

He explained further that, having implemented the 2022 Electoral Act, which contained some ambiguities, and complexities as well as inadequacies, “there are critical issues we need to look at; the independence of the Commission, loopholes within the electoral laws that were exploited in the 2023 elections.

“We can’t have the current setup within INEC and expect them to deliver credible elections. There’s a need to review the appointment process. Also, limit the discretionary powers that institutions like INEC have and clearly state these things within the law so that when there’s an infraction, their Lordships won’t look for technicalities; substitute them for substantial justice or electoral justice,” he reiterated.

 

Unbundle INEC for credible elections – Adegboruwa

In September, activist and lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), called for the urgent unbundling of INEC in order for it to be able to deliver credible elections while reacting to the tribunal judgment that upheld President Bola Tinubu’s victory, adding that the tribunal’s ruling called for a sober reflection, adding that the petitions could have been decided purely on points of law and within a few days of the election.

“There can be no real victory in the resolution of the legal issues by the court when the fabric of our democratic engagement seems to have been hijacked and compromised. Part of the lesson in this process is for us to go back and review the electoral process and the litigations following it. INEC, as it is presently constituted, cannot birth any credible election in Nigeria.

“In all, maybe there was too much expectation that the status quo would be upturned, whereas many of the principles of law canvassed had long been settled by the apex court. While encouraging all parties to continue in towing the paths already defined by law for the ventilation of grievances, we owe Nigeria an urgent duty to dismantle INEC, urgently,” he had said.

And on Tuesday, he repeated the call in his column, Learned Expressions published by Nigerian Tribune, Adegboruwa  said “INEC is simply too large, like an octopus without direction. The responsibilities imposed upon the organisation by law are too enormous and indeed cumbersome. Non-election related matters such as registration of voters, distribution of voter’s cards, creation and delimitation of constituencies, registration of political parties, monitoring political campaigns, observing party primary elections, funding elections, etc should be undertaken by a different entity from INEC. For instance, under the Electoral Act, 2022, political parties are required to conduct primary elections for all elective offices and these must be monitored by INEC. To achieve this, there will be elections at the wards to determine their representatives.

“Where on earth will INEC have the manpower and fund to achieve the task of monitoring these elections across Nigeria? And the same INEC is to attend and observe the campaigns of political parties and track their funding? Observing the behavioural patterns of INEC leaders, from the Chairman to the Resident Electoral Commissioners at least, it is easy to notice some semblance of highhandedness, with the impression of lord and master, as if holding the rest of us to some kind of ransom. With the present INEC, we will only move round in circles.

 

Unbundling may enhance INEC’s efficiency —Ajetomobi

On his part, Dave Ajetomobi, former chairman of NBA, Ikeja, said, “maybe if they remove voters registration as well as arrest and investigation/prosecution for electoral offences and vest those assignments in other autonomous bodies, it will reduce the task of INEC to merely conducting elections. That may enhance INEC’s efficiency.

 

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