By Amadin Idahosa
A digital media company known as ‘The Election Network’, has hinted a series of feasible resolutions aiming to bring about an electoral reform in Nigeria.
In light of its findings, the Election Network proposed the passage Of, “An Electoral Act Amendment Bill; An Electronic Accreditation, Voting and Collation; Prosecution of Electoral Offenders; Transferability of Voters Card,” among other suggestions.
The proposal was presented by Asari Ndem, Editor, The Election Network, yesterday in Abuja, during the screening of its documentary titled, “Left Behind”.
Speaking on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, she said, when passed, it will help put in check several irregularities but more importantly, give way for the full implementation of electronic voting during elections.
“Accreditation, voting and collation needs to be done electronically to avoid errors and to also trace malpractices in the system.
“Snatching of ballot boxes and other election-related offences are common features during elections in Nigeria but these acts often go unpunished. We encourage parliament to pass the bill for the enactment of the National Electoral Offences Commission, to ensure that electoral offenders are punished.
“Many voters were disenfranchised because they had registered in different places from where they currently live. It is important to ensure that voter cards are not only transferable but flexible, a Nigerian should be able to vote anywhere they are,” she said.
Ndem further recommended the Inclusion of People Living with Disabilities as well as having Financial Accountability.
With reference to 2019 elections, she said it was a major setback for Nigeria’s electoral and democratic framework.
“Officially, over 80 million Nigerians collected their voter cards from INEC but only about 30 percent of those people voted during the elections, the lowest recorded voter turnout in the history of Nigeria’s democracy.
“We wanted to understand why this had happened, to enable us make submissions to policymakers on how
this level of failure can be avoided in coming elections. So, we decided to talk to the people
“We found that these Nigerians were stalled by factors like administrative shortcomings, intimidation, and violence. But what stood out the most is violence.
“Between 2003 and 2019 alone, over 1932 electoral-violence related deaths were recorded, with
626 of these deaths occurring in 2019 alone.” Ndem revealed.
Other election barriers identified by the team include the low voter turnout caused by voter apathy, but mainly by voter fear; the fear of intimidation and violence.
The presence of heavy military and police personnel in certain regions were reported to have aggravated fear and prevented people from voting.
Other barriers to voting were technical and administrative issues like the failure of card readers, and the lack of provisions for people living with disabilities.
According to Farida Adamu, a Key Team Player of the Election Network, she revealed that their findings would be presented to INEC and other stakeholders.
The Election Network delivers creative, intelligent and data-driven journalism around global elections with focus on original digital storytelling, and smart coverage of technology, datatrends, special features that provide great insight into elections around the world.
