Democracy, which is government of the people by the people and for the people, usually involves making a choice out of many options. It is in recognition of this that election is an important element of any democratic setting. An election, when conducted in a transparent manner, remains the fairest method of leadership recruitment ever. In order to be acceptable, it must be credible as this would strengthen its acceptance not only by the people participating in the election but also by citizens who, for one reason or the other, could not vote at a particular time.
Also, the independent-mindedness and the tendency to adhere to the enabling law, by whoever heads the agency supervising the election is very crucial to enhancing its credibility.
It is therefore expected that whoever that is going to be at the helm of the institution that would be saddled with the responsibility of supervising the election process must be someone that is quite independent-minded and honest, in addition to being above board. Perhaps the Federal Government had this in mind when it decided to change the name of the country’s electoral umpire from National Electoral Commission (NEC) to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The word ‘independent’ in this context connotes freedom. It suggests that the electoral body is not being teleguided and will not be teleguided by anybody. It also means that it will have the freedom to carry out its assignment without interference.
The question is how independent can an organisation be, if its chairman and his executives are appointed by a President who is a partisan politician working through a National Assembly that is clearly dominated by his political party or highly influenced by him?
As the 2023 general election draws nearer, many Nigerians are saying that INEC should not only be independent in name but also prove to the electorate that it is not dependent on any arm of government, any political party or the President.
INEC’s mission is to serve as an independent and effective electoral management body that is committed to the conduct of free, fair and credible elections for sustainable democracy in Nigeria. The vision of INEC is to be one of the best Election Management Bodies (EMB) in the world that meets the aspirations of the Nigerian people.
We must commend the INEC for its laudable strides under the leadership of Prof Mahmood Yakubu and for its efforts to improve the electoral system in the country.
There is, however, a need to warn both INEC and Prof Yakubu to remain steadfast in their resolve to conduct a credible, free and fair general election in 2023. They should also be wary of the machinations of Nigerian politicians, who as a group are always desperate for power. Politicians are ready to do anything to achieve their selfish interests. There is the need for a total demonstration of forthrightness by INEC’s boss, in a situation where his resolve as a man and a professional is being tested.
To many people, the extension of the deadline for the conduct of party primaries by INEC after stating several times that it would not be changed, even when the PDP had begun the process, is a confirmation that the electoral umpire is involved in a relationship with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
While we would not want to insinuate that the INEC favoured the APC, which had found it very difficult to organise its primaries close to the deadline, we want INEC to weigh the implication of its actions and inactions in future.
As an electoral umpire, INEC must not only be independent, it must also be seen to be independent.
