Still on Vote Buying: Nigerian scientists to the rescue?
News & Trends •
by chukwudi ekezie2 vote buying is a nigerian problem. maybe someday a nigerian scientist will develop a chip that can be installed on the panel used in constructing the voting cubicle to hinder all activities not related to the casting of vote in the enclosure. nanfeatures1 the electoral umpire independent national electoral commission inec has since then held several stakeholders engagements to find a solution to the problem which gets more sophisticated with every new election1 at the beginning it was the bribing of prospective voters by politicians who offer them gifts of food and clothing items as well as suspicious acts of philanthropy in form of empowerment programmes and infrastructure development projects during electioneering1 later the practice was the secret bribing of election officials party and security agents to change poll results in favour of losers1 however recent experiences demonstrate the boldness of politicians who have turned election venues to open auction grounds where the ballot goes to the highest bidder1 to avoid the shame of ekiti during which voters received pay for voting after displaying pictures of thumb-printed ballot papers to party agents inec has resolved to re-administer polling units starting with the osun governorship election holding on sept. 221 the chairman of inec prof. mahmood yakubu said when he presented certificate of registration to 23 new political parties that the new polling unit structure would make it difficult for voters to display their ballot papers after marking them1 the commission is deeply worried about our elections particularly the way they are becoming increasingly monetised1 vote buying is a cancer to our elections and we must work together collectively to stamp it out1 accordingly and on the part of the commission starting with osun governorship election coming up on sept. 22 we will change the way our polling units are administered. it will be done in such a way that there will be no room for voters to expose their marked ballot papers between voting cubicles and the ballot boxes.1 we shall further re-strategise with the security agencies for a more robust response to the arrest and prosecution of vote buyers1 we will also engage with all well-meaning groups for more effective voter education and voter sensitisation yakubu said1 to strengthen its hold on the issue inec stated that voters would no longer be allowed to take smartphones into the voting cubicle to prevent them from taking pictures of thumb-printed ballot papers to present to party agents as evidence for payment after voting1 in the past the commission said it was helpless over the handling of matters arising from the conduct of elections especially the prosecution of electoral offenders. it said it lacked the capacity to prosecute such cases1 however that responsibility has shifted to the economic and financial crimes commission efcc which has accepted to prosecute election fraud offenders1 the acting chairman of efcc ibrahim magu said the agency was working with inec and the police to track politicians and others involved in vote buying1 magu said efcc was monitoring spending by politicians and political parties during elections and had put banks on notice regarding transactions by parties and politicians1 after vote buying nigerias new political headache reached its climax during the conduct of ekiti governorship election in july nigerians have been thinking of ways to deal with the phenomenon which threatens to destroy the countrys democracy1 we will monitor unusual cash withdrawals. we are going to work with other relevant agencies like the police on this1 before now it was inconceivable for law enforcement agencies to investigate the sources of election funding of political parties and their candidates1 this has led to gross financial abuse and the pervasion of the electoral process and consequently enthroned bad leadership which in turn led to corruption and bad governance he said1 the federal executive council fec on its part approved a bill for a law to establish an election offences commission. the agency it is hoped will take the burden of post-election crises management off the shoulders of inec1 the steps so far taken particularly the ban on the use of smartphones in polling cubicles do not appeal to some groups. the leading opposition peoples democratic party pdp describes the step as a plan by the ruling all progressives congress apc to rig the 2019 general elections1 we have all heard what the chairman of inec prof. mahmood yakubu said about the decision to ban the use of smartphones in the polling units. all over the world a smartphone is the easiest way of communication1 what they have said clearly shows that the commission in connivance with the all progressives congress has perfected a rigging strategy for the next election1 in fact inec has sent nigeria back to the primitive days1 the same plan to rig the 2019 election is responsible for the refusal of the president to sign the amended electoral act because the card reader must be used pdp national chairman uche secondus said. similarly a group not too young to perform has rejected the ban on the use of smartphones at polling units and urged inec to plan better.1 for us since the major incident of vote buying occurred during the anambra governorship election in november last year inec has not done enough to nip the anti-people practice in the bud1 we hail the commission for recognising that vote buying is a big challenge that must be tackled but the ban on use of cellphones and camera at polling units cannot be the best inec can offer in its efforts to curb the menace. inec should go back to the drawing board to find better ways to deal with it if it cant prosecute offenders1 while all stakeholders acknowledge the threat of vote buying to democracy the issue remains contentious1 the approach adopted by inec is traditional considering the state of technology at its disposal. the proposals by efcc and fec are laudable but considering the weakness in law enforcement in the country there are doubts that much can be achieved1 for example while the law makes electoral fraud an offence no one including some persons alleged to have been involved in electoral violence bribery intimidation forgery and manipulation of election results in the past has been punished1 it has been difficult to apply the rule to all groups and persons in nigeria especially when influential persons are involved. such persons and groups or those associated with them are often treated with deference1 in all societies when a problem arises in one sector the whole community including scientists get to work to resolve the issue1 the adoption of scientific approach to deal with issues is objective and less contentious1 we are working with inec to stop vote buying we are seriously pursuing this1