By Gabriel Ewepu
THE Executive Director, Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, yesterday, raised concerns about the current electoral process, saying it remains fragile and poses a risk to 2027 elections.
Speaking on the sidelines of a ‘Roundtable/Report presentation on the State of Electoral Integrity inNigeria’ in Abuja, Itodo said the situation in the political space is not showing a good sign ahead of the 2027, as he highlighted issues including defections, state capture, disregard for the role, and among others.
According to him, the report was released because it is mid-term to the 2027 general elections.
Meanwhile, the State of Electoral Integrity Report provides a critical mid-term performance is growing. The absence of a culture of electoral integrity assessment of Nigeria’s electoral landscape within the 2023–2027 cycle.
According to the report, it is imperative to intervene in some critical issues it pointed out ahead of the 2027 general elections, which include; Timely conclusion of Electoral Reform;
The 2027 general election will benefit from timely conclusion of ongoing electoral reform including the reforms proposed by the Commission as they relate to the 2022 Electoral Act.
Scrutiny of appointment of INEC Commissioners; Legal Protection for Deployment of BVAS Technology; Use Off-season Elections to Re-build Public Confidence; Passage of the Bill on Special Seats for Women and other Inclusive Proposals; Civic Engagement and Voter Education; Improving electoral security; Combating Fake News and Misinformation/Disinformation Institutional Strengthening and Capacity Building.
He said: “The electoral process remains fragile and it does pose some risks to the credibility of the 2027 elections, and we say so because of several factors. One, is the attitude of the political class, we also see cases of the lack of regard for the rule of law. We also highlighted issues relating to, when you look at the entire political system, we’ve seen incidences where politicians are approaching the next election as a do or die affair and that is problematic.”
“One of the things our report have also said is that the chances that the 2027 elections will be highly, will be compromised is very high because of political opportunism as well as institutional capture.There’s capture of institutions across board and it’s not just capture of INEC.
“And this is why we have called, you know, for the appointing authority, and in this case those who will be involved in appointing the next INEC chairman and commissioners, to uphold certain principles of transparency, non-partisanship, and accountability in ensuring that the next chair of INEC is one who does not just have the competence, but it is also one who has the moral integrity, the unquestionable integrity, to hold that particular office.
“The reason why this report is released at this point is because it is mid-term to the 2027 election.
“Today makes it exactly 603 days to the 2027 election. Therefore, we are raising these issues to draw the attention of those who have the power to make decisions to avert this risk or mitigate this risk, to take action, and one of them is the National Assembly.”
He further stated that it imperative for the National Assemblyamendment to the electoral law, as well as the constitution.
One of the recommendations we’ve done is to call on the National Assembly to conclude the process of the amendment to the electoral law, as well as the constitution.
“We note that the National Assembly, especially the committees, both the INEC committees and the Senate and the House, have done remarkable, but we need to conclude this process early enough to guarantee the legal instruments that will be used for the next election.
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