The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has recorded significant improvements in the conduct of off-season governorship elections. However, some actors may want to dispute the remarkable progress because the poll outcomes did not favour their political parties and candidates.
In today’s poll across the 18 local government areas of Ondo State, the expectation is that the umpire would build on the feats of conducting substantially credible, free, and fair elections. This is non-negotiable, more so when a political party has kicked against the retention of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Oluwatoyin Babalola, based on the flimsy excuse that she was born and bred in Akure, the state capital, where his parents still live.
An election is always a tough battle in Ondo State, right from the First Republic. That is why the umpire should conduct the assignment properly with a profound sensitivity to the historical antecedents of the state. Those in politics now in Ondo were children of yesteryears and youths who witnessed the horrors of the earlier dispensations. In the dreadful days of the wild, wild West, the old Ondo Province was a major contributor to arson, killings, maiming and destruction of property, following the 1965 rigging of the Western regional elections. Eighteen years later, the state also boiled during the Ajasin/Omoboriowo rift. The Federal Electoral Commission (FEDECO) office on Oba Adesida Road in Akure was up in flames. A state lawmaker, Tunde Agunbiade, was beheaded. A leader of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in Akure, Agbayewa, and a House of Representatives member and publisher, Olaiya Fagbamigbe, were set ablaze.
However, since 1999, the state appeared to have bidden farewell to the electoral hullabaloo. Even when allegations of a stolen mandate filled the air in 2007, the gladiators waited on the court for the ventilation of their grievances, adjudication and justice. The mandate was retrieved lawfully from Governor Olusegun Agagu to Olusegun Mimiko without bloodshed.
Since 2012, there have been improvements in the conduct of governorship elections in the Sunshine State. Mimiko, who had defected from the Labour Party (LP) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), defeated the late Rotimi Akeredolu of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), who eventually succeeded him after defeating Eyitayo Jegede (SAN) of the PDP. Also, Akeredolu defeated Jegede for the second time in 2018. During these contests, there was no cause for alarm.
No party has maintained dominance in Ondo politics in this Fourth Republic. In 1999, the battle was between Adebayo Adefarati of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and Agagu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). At the poll, it was 51 per cent for AD and 49 per cent for PDP.
During the political earthquake that swept the AD governors, Agagu succeeded Adefarati. But his second-term bid also collapsed. The state reverted to LP and later to the PDP under Mimiko. Much later, the ‘progressives’ bounced back under Akeredolu, who was succeeded by Lucky Aiyedatiwa last year.
Ondo has somehow institutionalised zoning. Akeredolu came from the North Senatorial District. Thus, the two major parties picked their candidates from the South Senatorial District in the spirit of equity, fairness and justice, and with the understanding that power would rotate to Ondo Central later.
It is noteworthy that the campaigns were orderly and peaceful. The two main candidates – Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi of the PDP – have conducted their campaigns with decorum and elevated issues over personalities. The two candidates are politically related, having operated under their former leader, Akeredolu. They are also from the same senatorial district, which means head or tail, Ondo South is the winner.
The candidates, their party leaders, followers and voters should bear in mind the peace accord. The INEC is just the supervisor of the governorship contest. A successful poll is possible when the stakeholders cooperate with the electoral agency. Indeed, an election is the joint responsibility of the umpire, the government, security agencies, the candidates, political parties, party agents at polling booths, and the electorate. If any of the stakeholders flounder in their duties and obligations, substantial compliance with extantlaws and electoral rules and regulations may not be attainable.
The political parties must educate and enlighten their followers up to the polling day. Parties should impress upon their members and followers on the need to shun unruly behaviours and report any anomaly to security agencies instead of taking the laws into their own hands.
Party leaders have been mobilising during the campaigns across the local governments. There is no need to hire agents for vote-buying and selling. They should do away with desperation. Vote-buying is vote theft. It is an offence that is punishable as it erodes the credibility of the exercise.
It is the duty of security agencies to police the votes and prevent disruption and violence. Vigilance is key. They should maintain utmost neutrality and impartiality in discharging their electoral duty. They are not expected to aid or abet unscrupulous politicians with habitual rigging behaviour. Only policemen who understand the geography, sociology and terrain of Ondo State should be saddled with electoral duties.
The electorate is obligated to cast their ballot without let and hindrance. They should shun the temptation to vote in anticipation of a financial reward. Voting according to one’s conscience and understanding of the game is a rare form of personal dignity. These are hard times, no doubt. However, discipline should not be a casualty of the boring social condition. Vote-buying will become a thing of the past when the targets resist and report to security agencies on electoral duty.
Voters should also endeavour to cooperate with polling staff in the various booths and units. An election is a festival of choice, change and affirmation of the political leadership. Voters should shun intimidation and vote wisely.
There is now a trend whereby some people invade social media with fake news about unannounced election results. It is a dangerous trend in a contemporary election cycle. Social media, fundamentally, is not a native of Nigeria. Even though it was imported, it is useful. Government should muster the strength to regulate social media as it is being done in many parts of the world, and the regulation should be devoid of partisan agenda on the part of those at the helm of affairs.
The bulk of the responsibilities is on INEC. The mistakes of the past that cast shadows on elections in some areas should be avoided. Polling agents should arrive promptly at their designated booths or units. Lateness by electoral officials can spark anxiety and uproar. There is a need for correct polling materials to be conveyed to the appropriate voting units at the right time.
An election in riverine areas requires a special type of supervision. Coastal areas are far and rough. Transportation and other logistics should be thorough. Drunkards should not be allowed to drive the boats for conveying electoral materials and officials; neither should the canoes be rickety.
The data-capturing machines should not disappoint. If there is a hitch, there should be the understanding that it is temporary. Voters should be patient. There should be no voter at the polling booth who should be disallowed from voting, except for violating the law. In highly populous voting areas, INEC needs to extend the voting hours to accommodate the voters.
Proper collation of results at the collation centres is crucial. Disparity or discrepancies between the figures recorded at booths and those at the collation centres could erode trust and create credibility problems.
Bringing to book erring INEC workers found culpable in any electoral atrocity may also be the baseline for electoral sanity. The electoral commission should not relent in pressing for the setting up of a special electoral offences tribunal for the speedy prosecution of election riggers who try to derail democracy and dent the image of the country’s electoral system.
Today’s exercise should portray Ondo voters as enlightened adults who can perform their civic duty without rancour. The election outcome should reflect the reality on the ground and be accepted by the parties in the spirit of sportsmanship. An election can only produce one winner; losers have the opportunity to return in the next election season. This is the beauty of democracy.
Source: The nation
