Soludo questions INEC’s bid to limit result review powers

The Governor of Anambra and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Charles Soludo, has questioned a proposal by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to limit its power to review electoral results.

He warned that the move could undermine efforts to curb impunity.

In his virtual message at the Athena Centre’s Review of INEC’s Innovation in Electoral Technology (2015-2025), Soludo commended the commission for its positive advancements but raised a critical concern regarding the proposed amendment to Section 64 of the Electoral Act.

Under the current law, INEC has the power to review results declared under duress or in contravention of the Electoral Act or INEC’s guidelines.

However, Soludo noted that INEC is reportedly proposing to limit this review power only to cases where elections were declared under duress.

“How problematic is that, given that Nigerians have been calling for that proposal to address impunity on the part of the politicians to undermine the electoral process?” he asked.

He challenged the rationale behind INEC seeking an amendment that would limit its capacity to review results, especially when collation officers frequently announce results in contravention of established guidelines.

“When we have seen where collation officers declared and announced results in contravention of the guidelines, it seems perverse to try and protect election officials when they violate the law,” he stated.

The former CBN governor acknowledged the argument that expanding the review process might inundate INEC with tasks that should ideally go to the courts, potentially forcing the commission to “do the job of the courts”.

In spite of this challenge, Soludo maintained that the review process must be robust enough to hold INEC officials to account.

He strongly advocated for a legal process that ensures any INEC official who signs off on a collation, contrary to the commission’s own guidelines, is prosecuted and jailed.

“Until we jail one, two, three, four faulty prosecutors, there are still enough people in this country who care for their name and who don’t want to go to jail, whatever the amount of money they have to give to combat the process.

Soludo lamented the current system where errant officials are often seen as “experts” who can tout their ability to subvert the process in one state and be redeployed to do the same elsewhere.

He stressed that this practice is “where the problem is”.

He linked the issue to the need for total transparency in the electoral system, allowing the process to be seen by all.

The Governor shared his “dream electoral system”, where politicians contesting the ballot do not need to know any INEC staff or security agents to secure a victory.

“The results are declared, and they win if the people want them to win,” positing this as the ideal destination for Nigeria’s electoral evolution.

To achieve this, he stressed that political parties themselves must be “eternally vigilant”, citing an example from a recent by-election where the vigilance of party agents prevented pre-completed ballot papers from being used at a polling unit.

Soludo also called for the role of security agents in the election process to be thoroughly evaluated and assessed, reiterating his ideal of an election where one needs to know neither election officers nor security personnel.

While cautioning against extreme “all bad” or “all good” narratives, he acknowledged that Nigeria has made tangible progress.

He recalled the example of former INEC Chairman Prof. Attahiru Jega, who oversaw an election where the incumbent government that appointed him lost and conceded.

“We’ve seen the good and the bad. We’ve seen places where even those who appointed lost woefully, urging for the need to put progress and defects into context.

Soludo, however, urged stakeholders to focus on incremental change, stating, “It’s a work in progress.

“We can make much, much, much more progress and fast as well. But let’s not forget where we are coming from and where we need to go.” (NAN)

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