Intersociety: INEC Should Take Maximum Advantage Of Shift

AS groups and organisations continue to ponder on ways to make the best of the time provided by the rescheduling of this year’s general election, the International Society for Civil Liberties and the Rule of Law, Intersociety, has outlined crucial steps to be taken by the stakeholders to ensure a transparent process and credible outcome. Intersociety said the postponement amounted to an abortion of scientific rigging of the election, adding that the thorny issues begging for practical and proactive attention have remained unsolved. In a statement made available to journalists and signed by its BoT chairman, Barrister Emeka Umeagbalasi, Intersociety noted that the chief among them “is the issue of PVCs production, distribution and enfranchisement of 68, 833, 476 registered voters irrespective of tribe, sex, class or religion.” Aligning itself with the position of the United Nations, (UN) Secretary General, Mr. Ban Ki-Moon; Intersociety agreed that; “the INEC should take advantage of the shift in polls to embark on rapid distribution of the remaining Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) to all eligible voters”. It said the position is a clear departure from sectional media and politically engineered comments from a number of foreign missions. “It, (the call) also rubbishes sustained attempts by interested parties and third parties in the media, CSOs and political circles to divert the attention of Nigerians and international watchers from the fundamental issue of PVCs and their obvious manipulation for purpose of scientific rigging and massive disenfranchisement of millions of registered voters particularly in the South

   Consequently, Intersociety declared that what INEC must do include, disclosing publicly the State-by-State breakdown of the  total number of registered voters in Nigeria, which the Commission now says is 68, 833, 476, as well as disclosing publicly with the State-by-State breakdown of a total of 1, 543, 961 registered voters, which the Commission labeled “double registrants” and deleted from the National Register of Voters between November/December 2014 and first week of January 2015. 

  “In view of the fact that the 2010/2011 pre-AFIS (pre-Automated Fingerprint Identification System) figure in the National Register of Voters was 73, 528, 040 and post AFIS figure of 70, 383, 427 registered voters; Nigerians want to be told publicly by the Commission how it came about the total of 1, 543, 961 registered voters, which it summarily and magisterially labeled “double registrants” and deleted within two months,” the group stated adding that INEC should publicly tell Nigerians the total number of registered voters captured or registered since 2012 in its continuous voters’ registration exercises. Further the rights group stated: “In view of the fact that those 1, 543, 961 summarily deleted “double registrants” voted in 2011 general elections, the Commission should publicly tell Nigerians how they suddenly became “double registrants” in late 2014 and first week of 2015. Nigerians want to know whether those 1, 543, 961 deleted registered voters are “double registrants” for real or victims of “INEC data loss” or ethno-religious demographic data manipulation perceived to have been designed for a particular zone against the other. In view of the security challenges in the Northeast, acknowledged by the Commission leading to the present polls’ shift, the Commission should publicly disclose to Nigerians how it came about distribution of whopping 6, 678, 148 PVCs in the entire six States of the zone as at 27th January, 2015, which are: (a) Bauchi State: 1, 745, 441, (b) Gombe State: 873, 698, (c) Yobe State: 740, 336, (d) Adamawa State:  1, 239, 820, (e) Taraba State: 1,079, 338 and (f)  Borno State:   999, 470. The referenced figure (6, 678, 148) has as at 5th February hit over seven million PVCs with Borno State, which still has twenty out of its 27 LGAs in the hands of Boko Haram insurgents; hitting over one million PVCs”. Intersociety therefore contended that the electoral umpire must dutifully, speedily and aggressively distribute the remaining 23,003, 668 PVCs particularly in the South and take delivery of the remaining 2.8m PVCs yet to be produced or “4 percent” of the total PVCs ordered. Other conditions precedent laid out by Intersociety are as follows: *INEC must ensure that as many as 95% of Nigeria’s registered voters receive their PVCs before the adjusted polls’ dates even if it means taking them to their homes or polling units and subjecting same to delivery on identification. Extending the date for PVCs distribution to 8th day of      March 2015 is not enough. 

• INEC must publicly and transparently disclose to Nigerians how it came about the so-called “special polling booths” for red spots   in the Northeast zone as well as legal basis upon which it did it. 

• INEC must explain to Nigerians the reasons as well as legal basis behind its decision not to transfer the voters’ cards of those registered voters mostly non indigenes of the Northeast and the Northwest numbering about five million or more who fled or relocated to the South and other safer areas of the country following insurgency threats and other politically oiled unsafe conditions. What about the safety of their PVCs? It added that upon the above basis, INEC owes Nigerians expeditious explanation as to whether its decision runs or does not run contrary to Section 13 (1-4) of the Electoral Act of 2010. For instance, the group noted that out of 5,905, 852 registered voters in Lagos State, only 2, 267, 039 have received their PVCs as of date leaving 3,638, 813 in the State without PVCs; stressing that that is very shocking and alarming, especially when compared with Kaduna State’s 2, 976, 628 PVCs out of 3,407, 222 registered voters; Kano State’s 3, 190, 417 PVCs out of 4, 975, 701 registered voters; and Katsina State’s 2, 245, 039 PVCs out of 2, 827, 943 registered voters. “To this effect, the ugly trend under reference must be reversed by the Commission; henceforth, Nigerians must no longer accept any PVCs distribution public update by INEC unless it is accompanied with State-by-State breakdown. In other words, INEC must always attach State-by-State breakdown of its PVCs distribution update across the country,” Intersociety outlined.

For the Service Chiefs, Security Agencies and the  Federal Government, Intersociety declared that they must ensure that the new polls’ dates are not tempered with on security grounds again because that wouldl be in grave dispute with the Constitution of Nigeria 1999 as amended in 2011.   “They must carry out their duties in consonance with the Constitution, public interest and safety and disallow all forms of primordial and clannish distractions from alarmist political parties, politicians, rights CSOs, ethno-religious groups and media. The Northeast and the Northwest zones must be designated as security and poll nipping points or red spots during and after the polls. All the palaces of Emirs and District Heads as well as Mosques and Houses of leading politicians in the areas must be placed on tight and close watch during and after the polls,” it added. Intersociety suggested that thumb-printed ballot papers and boxes emanating from areas or palaces, mosques or houses other than polling units or booths clearly known to INEC and the Federal Government, must be impounded, confiscated and destroyed while all under-age voters and people holding PVCs with different photographs particularly in the Northwest and the Northeast must be identified and arrested. According to the rights group, all registered voters with correct PVCs particularly in the Northeast and the Northwest must be compelled to go through voting accreditation processes before they are allowed to vote. This, it noted, would ensure a credible outcome stressing that street urchins, who are notorious in triggering off group violence or threat of same particularly in the Northwest and the Northeast, for the purpose of evading voting accreditation, must be cocooned and warded off.