All Elections Should Hold On The Same Day Let the debate and discussion on conducting a credible election in 2015 begin now. Professor Attahiru Jega, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has seized every opportunity to inform Nigerians that the 2015 elections would be better than those of 2011. He has said this so many times that I think it is fair to start giving him the benefit of the doubt. I am one of those who think that Jega has learnt enough lessons from his 2011 mistakes and now wants to prove to Nigerians that he is capable of conducting credible elections. There are still lingering questions regarding the 2011 general elections. One is the fact that not a single individual has been prosecuted over some of the very glaring fraudulent acts associated with the general elections, in spite of Jega’s tough talk and promises. Another one is the very inexplicable posture of INEC in refusing to present documents to the presidential election petition tribunal that would prove whether the elections were rigged or not. I have been one of the strongest critics of Jega’s INEC on these issues but I think it is time to move on. We cannot look to the future with a rear-view mirror. There is a lot at stake for the nation here. One of the things we must do to ensure that the 2015 elections are more credible than the last four rounds is let all elections be conducted on the same day. There is no reason INEC should not agree to this because a lot of unnecessary costs will be saved. And there are no advantages of the staggered elections except for crooks. Besides, this is the norm in most other democracies. Every four years, the United States conducts seven elections in one day in November. The situation is the same in most of Europe (including the UK), and in India, the world’s largest and most complex democracy. In case some choose to hide behind the lazy excuse that these are advanced democracies, it’s important to remind them that Ghana, South Africa and Kenya hold their elections on the same day. Also, Francophone African countries such as Ivory Coast and Benin have since dumped the so-called staggered elections for the one-day bunched elections. The only people that are likely going to kick against this very straightforward proposition are those who obviously want to manipulate the process, as we have seen in the past. There are many people who believe that President Jonathan intends to win the next presidential election by massively rigging it. This remains a mere speculation as no one can prove it. Those who say so base their speculation on the fact that the president desperately intends to run for re-election even though it is quite clear to him that he has become dangerously unpopular within all critical segments of the Nigerian society. He has become unpopular within his own PDP. He is scandalously unpopular with the intelligentsia and the ordinary people who see corruption everywhere. He is unpopular in the north, the south-west and with the majority of the south-south where he comes from. And even though the south-east remains ambivalent, most of the elite members there know it is dangerous for Jonathan to continue as president beyond 2015. No serious Nigerian would wish to see Jonathan continue in Aso Rock beyond 2015, considering how the country has been totally fouled up in the few years he has been president. With all these, most people believe that the most sensible thing the president should do is declare that he would not be on the ticket in the 2015 presidential election. It is clear to everybody – and, I am sure, even to the president himself – that he does not stand a chance if he insists he will seek re-election. That is why many people are saying that the president intends to rig the 2015 elections no matter what will happen. The logic is pretty straightforward: if the president does not totally control his constituencies – the PDP and the south-south – then, he stands no chance. So why does he insist on running? If the president who will ultimately be in charge of the process of the 2015 election really intends to rig the election (like he just did in the Nigeria Governors’ Forum), what are the chances that INEC will be able to keep its promise of a credible election? But INEC has no choice. It has to insist on what is right for the country. It is an independent body and Jega has another chance, probably his last, for a make-up. Let Nigerians start the debate now on how to get the next general elections right. If the INEC chairman really wants to conduct credible elections this time, let us start discussing it. Let all elections be conducted on the same day. Does anyone object to this?
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 05:28:01 +0000
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