National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Prof. Joash Amupitan, has noted that democracy is constantly battling, among others, the corrosive effect of misinformation, electoral malpractice such as rigging and vote-buying as well as violence.
Amupitan noted that for this reason the act of securing the nation’s democracy requires a proactive, multi-sectoral approach.
The INEC boss spoke at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room’s stakeholders’ forum on elections in Abuja on Thursday.
The theme for this year is “Securing Nigeria’s Democracy: Building Consensus for Credible Elections and Accountable Governance” which the INEC boss noted is indeed a profound articulation of the collective mission.
“Our democracy is constantly battling, among others, the corrosive effect of misinformation, electoral malpractice such as rigging and vote-buying as well as violence. The act of securing our democracy thus requires a proactive, multi-sectoral approach,” he said.
“Second, the concept of building consensus for credible elections is vital to this discourse in that credible elections are the undisputed, non-negotiable foundation of democracy.
“However, credibility is a public trust built only when all stakeholders (political parties, the media, security agencies, civil society, and INEC) agree on, and abide by, the electoral rules and principles.
“Accountable governance, which is the third plank of today’s theme, borders on the quality of governance a credible election produces. If the process is just, the government is legitimate, and legitimacy is the bedrock of political accountability.
“When citizens believe their votes count, they empower themselves to hold their leaders to the highest standards.”
Amupitan highlighted some of the strategic responses of INEC to include to the systemic infusion of technology, legally backed by the Electoral Act 2022, into our electoral system.
He added that “The deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) has fundamentally redefined the process. It ensured that only genuinely accredited voters could cast their ballot, closing the door on over-voting and manual manipulation.
He also mentioned that the “INEC Result Viewing (IReV) Portal has opened the electoral process to the world, making results available for public scrutiny on election day. This transparency is the new baseline for trust in our process.
He, however, added that technology is not a panacea, saying that the nation’s telecommunications network remains a formidable obstacle.
“To secure democracy, technological integrity must be matched by political accountability. We recognise that vote-buying and financial inducement derail the will of the people. To combat this, we have intensified our collaboration with law enforcement agencies through the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, ICCES,” he said.
“The strategic deployment of security personnel and covert intelligence operations at election centres is designed to protect voters from intimidation and resist inducement. This is a multi-sectoral fight that requires collective resolve.
“Civil Society Organisations must play their part decisively to hold all stakeholders, including political parties, to account. The Situation Room, as the leading civil society network, is indispensable in advancing this consensus by monitoring compliance, promoting civic education, and holding the Commission and all actors to the highest standards of the law and procedure.”
