2015 and PVCs: That We May Know Jega

Posted by admin | 10 years ago | 2,869 times



As the 2015 Nigeria general elections approach, the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) has been busy crossing the t's and probably dotting the i's. All this is done as a sign of its 'preparedness' to conduct free and credible elections at all levels in the country.

The gubernatorial elections in Anambra last year,  Ekiti and Osun states this year have been met with mixed reactions. That of Anambra was allegedly characterized with irregularities which have left some of the contenders in court until recently. Yet it will be too early to say its over since the rights to the appellate have not been fully utilized.

Ekiti's met with commendations to the electoral body from the majority especially members and sympathizers of the ruling party. 'The people have spoken' while the opposition as expected went home apparently licking her wounds while growling over what she termed intimidation of loyalists by the security operatives deployed by the ruler through INEC.

With the performances of Prof. Attahiru Jega's led INEC in these elections with all the time and resources devoted to them (being the only elections at the time), Nigerians looked forward to the just held Osun elections. A precedent has been set, things have improved with INEC. That Governor Rauf Aregbesola won that contest has been seen as a credit to President Goodluck Jonathan and INEC. They are now seen as unbiased, allowing democracy its play.

It is with this optimism that the greater number of Nigerians welcomed the Permanent Voter Card (PVCs) which are being issued out. The distribution which started between May 23 - May 25 with ten states as phase one, is sandwiched with Continuous Voter Registration betweenMay 28 and June 1.  Other states have since followed suit.

Prof Jega painted a very wonderful picture of the PVC as the almighty formula to Nigeria's election problems. "The PVCs would be more secured, fraud proof, chip based and biometric data proof in order to check electoral manipulation". We rejoiced! Our problems have been solved, no more fraudulent practices. The votes of the masses will finally count, the will of the people is at last prevailing.

To buttress this, an INEC Commissioner,  Prof Lai Olorode reassured, "The Commission does not want the cards to get into wrong hands or the politicians to hijack the exercise". This statement is as mind-boggling as it was meant to be reassuring. So as fraud-proof and biometric data-proof as these cards are, they are still hijackable by 'ordinary politicians'? So it is not yet Uhuru?

Federal Executive Council had approved #2.6bn in 2012 for the procurement of 75million PVCs in readiness for 2015 general elections. So far, the Commission has taken delivery and commenced distribution of 20 million pieces. The mode of distribution has left much to be desired and this will affect the effectiveness of the card.

The Continuous Voter Registration makes room for those with defective data to re-register while those who turned 18 after the last registration can register. This is commendable but will on the other hand make room for infiltrations. It was not uncommon sight in the last general elections to see people who are glaringly under-age queuing to vote especially in the rural areas. These were used by politicians to get higher votes.
When the electoral body talks about biometric data proof cards, one will be hoping that there will be a way of fore-stalling the registration of minors which is one sure way of rigging elections before they are even held. Faulty capturing machines are another bane of credible registration. Already, the Direct Data Capturing machines have been faced out as INEC is seeking approval to sell them to states for their schools on the grounds that they are not as effective as desired for the onerous tasks.

How good are the currently procured and in-use registration machines? While attending to complaints on these new machines, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC, Delta State, Dame Gesila Khan acknowledged that the Commission has faulty machines with the ratio 10:2. Nothing is perfect but Nigeria expects more, taking cognizance of the problems arising from poorly conducted elections and the huge allocations to the Commission to make it more equipped.

Outside the machines for re-registration and fresh registrations, the personnel and mode of distribution of the PVCs raise more questions than answers. Reports from states show there are no orderliness for the whole process. The lists are displayed randomly with rude staff attending to the people, the cards on the floor.

With the revelation and knowledge that the afore-thought almighty formulae PVC is not completely fraud-proof and may be hijacked especially with the outcry meeting its distribution in some parts already, Nigerians are keenly watching, waiting to know Prof. Jega's INEC more. Would we backslide or get more zealous?

 


Readers Comments

comment(s)

No comments yet. Be the first to post comment.


You may also like...