The rescheduled and much anticipated 2019 Presidential and National Assembly elections have come and gone. The elections, which were held on Saturday, February 23 didn’t go without glitches that almost marred the process in parts of the country, Kwara State inclusive, though it recorded huge turnout of electorate.
Prominent among the defects in the electoral process as observed during monitoring exercise in parts of the state, were several instances of smart card reader failure which necessitated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials resorting to manual accreditation of voters.
Logistic lapses also characterised the last elections across the state. Elections could not hold at the stipulated time due to late arrival of electoral materials at Polling Units. Another problem that marked the election, was the mix up of electoral materials, giving rise to late commencement of voting in most Polling Units across the state. There are also allegations of malpractices and pockets of intimidation by security agents, which culminated in the rejection of the result of the elections by in the ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
The party in a swift reaction to the Saturday polls said the elections were marred by widespread irregularities in parts of the state.
The statement signed by the state Chairman of the party, Hon. (Engr.) Kola Shittu reads in part:”The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has rejected the outcome of last Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections in the State as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“Reports we received from our polling agents across the State indicated that the electoral process was characterized by massive anomalies that put the credibility of the exercise in doubt.
“Although the election was largely peaceful as there was no record of violence in any part of the State, our agents reported that the exercise was fraught with several discrepancies such as card readers failure, over-voting and inflation of figures.
“In addition, our agents were also harassed and intimidated by some compromised security officials for complaining that card readers were not used for voting in their polling units.
“For the avoidance of doubt, in over 70 per cent of polling units across the State, card readers were not used for voting as they only verified voters but could not authenticate their fingerprints, which led to the use of manual screening of voters. This gave room for perpetuation of electoral fraud in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“We also received report of how APC agents made use of unclaimed PVCs to vote at some polling units across the State particularity within Kwara Central. Also, many of the local observers accredited by INEC to monitor the election were APC members.
“Additionally, prior to the day of the election, the Federal Government backed APC made some retrogressive and undemocratic moves, using state apparatus to intimidate and arrest some of our members and supporters in some parts of the State.”
Truth be told, many voters were disappointed with the Saturday outing by the electoral body. INEC doesn’t have any excuse for the logistical lapses witnessed during the last elections.
Recall that the elections that were to hold on February 16 were suspended at midnight; few hours to its commencement. INEC, which had four years to prepare for the elections, announced the shift of the exercise on account of logistics challenges. It is quite unfortunate that INEC could not ensure a seamless operation; it was expected that the electoral body would have gone past these hiccups.
With the governorship and the states House of Assembly elections coming up in a fortnight, INEC has another chance to redeem its image and up its game. INEC must rise to the occasion to leverage on the past exercise to improve on the subsequent ones. The electoral body has to live up to expectation and not let Nigerians down during the next scheduled election. It is by so doing that INEC can sustain the confidence of voters and to ensure that their votes count in the democratic process.
The electoral body should not be seen as conniving with any political party; it must discharge its responsibility without fear or favour. The election umpire must be immuned against manipulation by politicians. The electoral body must act as a good arbiter, whose staff and ad hoc workers would be above board.
Meanwhile, March 9 is another election day and Kwarans are expected to again come enmasse to vote candidates of their choice. The Kwara electorate are advised to vote according to their conscience and not jump on the bandwagon. They have a date with destiny come next elections hence it is incumbent on them to make the right choice for a better Kwara.
