The European Union’s Elections Observation Team’s Report sparked off controversies largely, because of the hypocritical, condescending, blanket condemnation of the nation’s efforts at reforming the electoral system in the country ! We acknowledge the fact that is no Utopia , prefect system in the world . A lot of disservices is however, committed against the Nigerian State ; it’s people and the elections’ umpire – Independent National Elections Commission , ( INEC ) by the “qualified , wild , blanket” dismissal of the February / March general elections in the country by the E.U. Report.
It is trite here to point out that, the 2020 Presidential elections in the United States of America – the seat of Western – Democracy, the entire globe watched the “recounts ” of many Counties, States poll results as they were subject of vexatious contentions.
Till today, an average Republican believes that, former President, Donald Trump was “eased” out Government”, not exactly, Democratically defeated by popular polls.
The attendant “Storm of the White House” by a mob of Trumps’ supporters to express their rejection of the election verdict is unprecedented in “Electoral History”, world over.
The obvious intendment of E.U reports is to indict key political players so as to be stigmatized with sanctions in Europe and Western hemisphere. More importantly, the “United States Electoral College” System which produced Trump in the first place, is really an absurd contraption to any non-US – led-Western, States. How can a person without majority of votes cast be deemed validly victorious on the basis of “Electoral College” slots?
The point is why the fixation on deploying Western Parameters to evaluate the rest of the World? Particularly when the Western Appraisal Tools are in reality defective in many respect. Yet, for various climes in Europe, democratic systems evolved over years of practices. In some countries Democracy co- exist with Monarchy while in others, it is purely Constitutional Democracy.
The attempt at seeing the rest of the world through the Prism of Western-Value Systems can only generate avoidable global tension, confusions and conflict. As much as we can accept the challenges to further reform our electoral processes, the country should be wary of submissions that outrightly deny our efforts at evolving a free, fair and credible electoral process. Experiences in the continent, Latin America and other regions have shown that the Western countries have knacks for using this type of EU report to create a groundswell for disruption of people’s democracy, or to impose a puppet regime.
A dispassionate overview of the last general elections would critically reveal the following topical issues:
*.The Electoral Reforms Act brought in novel innovations with the “Bimodal Voters Accreditation System (BVAS) as well as unloading of results from Polling Units into the IREV Portal.
*. With this new System, cases of votes inflation, ballot stuffings, ballot snatching were drastically reduced to the barest minimum, thus, producing, the most credible electoral outcome in our history.
*. Results posted on the 2023 general elections approximate the actual votes cast. Many incumbents were un- returned, even President Muhammad Buhari lost majority votes cast in his Kastina, home State
Ditto for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos State . All these validates the credibility of the elections
*. Indeed, there are recorded instances of technological glitches especially in real – time unloading of results mostly in the Presidential elections. This teething hitches is not enough to through away the Baby with bath water but emphasizes the necessity for further institutional, legal reforms as well as System enhancement.
*. Elections have been conducted , results declared, disputants in courts , without certain doom predictions from some quarters coming to pass. The management of post elections situations by all parties in the Nigeria Nationhood Project Process deserves Commendation, Support and, Understandings instead of the E.U Reports’ Opprobrium.
Our grouse with the E.U Report is essentially on its inability to scientificate some of its submissions. How can a Commission of less than Two Thousand Observers effectively cover over A Hundred and Twenty Thousand Polling Units, across the Country? More importantly, statistics on polling areas where there were little hiccups are highly insignificant to dismiss the entire polls. As a matter of fact, the elections was more than 75% flawless. In some respect, the findings or, submissions of the E.U. was deliberately “Subjective targeted at individuals rather than the strengthening of institutions. This would definitely not assist in developing our electoral system in any way. It really smacks of a subtle move to provoke disruptive, subjective, reactions to otherwise settled general elections results.
We appeal to well-meaning Nigerians and pertinent bodies to take E.U. Elections Observation Mission Report with a pinch of salt. We should not be snared in the web of provocative submissions capable of heating up the polity and unconsciously derailing our budding democratic transition processes .
It is instructive to note that unlike the Two- Party Systems in most European and Western nations, the last elections truly reflected the heterogeneous composition of Nigeria by churning out Plural Parties Outcomes. More than Five Parties have presence in different tiers of Government. These include, the APC, P.D.P, L.P, NNPP, APGA and Y.P.P. wining electoral positions. No matter the inadequacies noted for redress in the System, the responsibilities lies with the Nigeria Government, State Institutions, Political Parties and the People to internalized our faltering steps for future rectification.
Signed:
Pan African Radical Congress
Razaq Olokoba
Omotaje Olawale Saint
