The chairman of the independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu has given the reasons why INEC has not responded to critics of the 2023 general elections .
Yakubu was speaking at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners held in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said the purpose of the meeting was for introspection, stocktaking, review and evaluation of the 2023 general elections.
The chairman highlighted some reasons why the commission refused to respond despite several demands of the citizenry and other international bodies for the commission to respond.
He said the preference of the commission is to listen more and draw lessons instead of joining the bandwagon of the election discussions.
“The Commission has consciously not joined in these commentaries in the immediate aftermath of the election for several reasons. First, our preference is to listen more and draw lessons rather than join in the heated and often emotive public discussion on the election.”
“Second, since we plan to conduct our own review of the election, we see no need to pre-empt the process. ”
“Third, the Commission would not want to be seen as defensive or justificatory in joining the ongoing discussions.”
” Finally, and perhaps most importantly, several issues around the election are sub-judice and it is not the intention of the Commission to either undermine or promote the chances of litigants in the various election petition courts beyond what is required of us by the legal process.”
He added that, practically anything coming from the Commission could be cited by litigants as either justifying their claims or an indication of bias against them.
Yakubu in addition highlighted the successes recorded by the commission in the course of the general elections.
He said compare to other elections, the 2023 general election was one of the most meticulously prepared for in recent times as “after the 2019 General Election, carefully ticking the necessary boxes over a four-year period. It is the need to learn from both the positives and the shortcomings that makes the stocktaking that we are embarking on today essential.”
He also added that despite threats of insecurity prior to the elections, the elections were peaceful. And that despite the challenges of currency and fuel scarcity, attacks on its personnel and facilities nationwide, the Commission proceeded with the election as scheduled.
“The first set of elections, the Presidential and National Assembly, held as planned for the first time in the last four General Elections conducted in the country. Accreditation of voters using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has generally been scored very high by voters. Our records show that the success rate for BVAS accreditation stands at 98% compared to the Smart Card Reader’s 29.2% during the 2019 General Election.” He added .
He reminded the stakeholders that despite the divergent opinions about the outcome of the election, the overall outlook suggests that it is a fair reflection of a complex multi-party democracy.
“We wish to remind Nigerians that elections were held for a total of 1,491 constituencies made up of one Presidential, 28 Governorship, 109 Senatorial, 360 Federal Constituencies and 993 State Assembly seats. Our record shows that these elections have produced the most diverse outcomes ever recorded since 1999. Today, five political parties produced State Governors, seven parties won Senatorial seats, eight are represented in the House of Representatives and nine in State Houses of Assembly. Clearly, the 10th National Assembly is certainly the most diverse in party representation since 1999. In some States around the country, different political parties controlled the legislative and executive arms of Government. What is clear from these records also is that the days of single party dominance of our national politics are probably gone. Furthermore, many prominent candidates lost in the constituencies they contested, and political parties lost in some of their presumed strongholds.”
The chairman accepted that there were also some challenges, which were structural, infrastructural and human in nature.
“Indeed, it is in furtherance of our determination to address the challenges as we prepare for future elections that the Commission is commencing its post-election review engagements today.”
“We are presently looking at all the evidence of infractions during the election, including the prosecution of offenders. We are looking at the activities of all actors involved in the election, including some of our high-ranking officials.”
” I can confirm that the Nigeria Police concluded its investigation of the conduct of our Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa State and submitted the case file to us. Appropriate action will be taken in a matter of days and Nigerians will be fully informed.”
“I can also confirm that we have received 215 case files from the Nigeria Police following their arrest and the conclusion of investigation into electoral offences arising from the 2023 General Election.”
He said the commission is working with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to prosecute the alleged offenders. Already, the NBA has submitted a list of 427 lawyers across the country who have volunteered to render pro bono services to the Commission.
Yakubu added that “In line with our policy, at the end of the internal review and engagement with stakeholders, a comprehensive report will be published by the Commission.”
