Electoral processes, media report and INEC’s credibility
Since the return to the fourth democratic dispensation in 1999, the nation’s electoral management body has never been put on the defensive edge as experienced after the conduct of the 2023 general election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has severally defended its actions and a few inactions, proving the sanctity of the electoral processes and protecting the credibility of the Commission. In this piece, Politics Editor, TUNDE OPALANA examines strategies that INEC deploys to combat negative media war.
Since the return to democracy in 1999 after military interregnum, the electoral.managrment body conducted seven general elections and various off- cycle elections. The 1999, 2003,2007,2011,2015,2019 and 2023 elections were conducted, though each with its own challenges . But the electoral body usually carried out reviews of preceding elections to draw lessons to improve on successive ones.
The 2023 election came with much criticism which were adequately reported in the conventional media but the Commission had to grapple with challenges of misinformation, disinformation,outright fake and distortion of facts about the electoral process. No thanks to the unregulated social media.
Just two days ago, on Wednesday, National Commissioner and Chairman,
Information and Voter Education Committee, Mr. Sam Olumekun had to debunked a report in one flagship newspaper and set certain facts and figures he described as erroneously presented in the news report, straight.
According to him, the newspaper on a front page report of it’s edition of
Wednesday 18th October 2023 entitled “INEC’s credibility sinks as 94% contested posts awaits tribunal”, presented to the public “inaccurate figures, mix up of pre-election and post-election cases, skewed comparative perspective and a headline that suggests that election petitions draw from the action or inaction of INEC.”
Olumekun first countered the claim by the report that in 2023, elections were conducted in 1,280 constituencies, including 782 State Assembly seats.
On the contrary, he said “elections were conducted in 1,491 constituencies across the country made up of 1 Presidential, 28 Governorship, 109 Senatorial, 360 House of Representatives and 993 State Assembly constituencies.
“Similarly, the claim that State Assembly elections were held in only 28 States of the country is made on the lazy assumption that no such elections were held in the eight States of the federation where executive elections are held off-cycle. As every attentive Nigerian knows, the tenure of legislators is tied to the legislative houses which is a fixed term of four years from the date the Assembly is inaugurated unlike the term of office of the executive which begins from the date they take the oath of office.”
Explaining issues surrounding election litigations, the National Commissioner said ” the report blames the pre-election cases arising from the conduct of primary elections by political parties on INEC. These are intra-party cases involving party members in which they join the Commission and seek for reliefs binding on it. As everyone knows, INEC does not conduct primaries for political parties.
“In pursuit of their right under the law, many litigants in Nigeria unfortunately file election petitions over the most improbable cases and later withdraw them or they are dismissed by the tribunals.”
According to him, if the report had taken time to analyse the outcome of the cases decided so far by the tribunals, “it would have discovered that out of 1,196 petitions, 712 were dismissed and 179 withdrawn. This means that in 891 cases (74.4%), the tribunals found no merit in the petitions and affirmed the result of the elections conducted by INEC. It is surprising how the mere filing of petitions constitute a blot on the integrity of the recent elections conducted by INEC when in fact they constitute an integral part of the democratic process.
“The said report analysed the total number of petitions as if they were filed against the outcome of the election in 94% of all the elective positions without considering details of the cases. Multiple petitions were filed by candidates and political parties as petitioners in a single Constituency. For example, in one State in the South South geopolitical zone of the country, eight petitions were filed challenging the Governorship election out of which seven were dismissed and one withdrawn.
“Therefore, the number of election petitions filed in respect of all elective offices will certainly outnumber the total number of constituencies/elective offices. To spread them across the constituencies and proceed to calculate the percentage is to count some constituencies several times which is methodologically problematic and statistically illogical.”
Speaking further, Okumekun said “it is pertinent to note that the grounds for challenging the outcome of an election as provided in Section 134 of the Electoral Act, 2022 are not limited to the conduct of election by the Commission. An election may be questioned on the ground that the winner of the election was not qualified to contest the election by virtue of his academic qualifications, age etc.
“Many of the petitioners did not challenge the conduct of the elections by INEC but the eligibility of candidates or their nomination by political parties. Under the law, INEC has no power to screen candidates. Similarly, only the Courts can disqualify candidates.
“A comparative analysis would have addressed the deliberate effort in the report to portray the 2023 General Election as regressive on account of litigation without empirical evidence. Over the last three electoral cycles, the number of election petitions may be rising but not the number of upturned elections.
In 2015, 663 cases were filed at the tribunals, 87 (13.1%) were nullified and the Commission ordered to conduct re-run in some polling units or entire constituencies. In 2019, 807 petitions were filed but elections were only re-run in 30 (3.71%) consituencies (3 Senatorial Districts, 13 Federal Constituencies and 14 State Constituencies).”
He said while the 2023 post-election litigations are ongoing, all five petitions filed in respect of the Presidential election were dismissed while three are pending on appeal.
“As of Monday 16th October 2023, out of 82 Governorship election petitions, 72 (87.8%) were either dismissed or withdrawn by the petitioners. For Senatorial elections, 146 petitions were filed out of which 100 (68.5%) were dismissed or withdrawn. For the House of Representatives, 413 petitions were filed out of which 309 (74.81%) were dismissed or withdrawn while for State Houses of Assembly, 550 petitions were filed out of which 468 (82.4%) were dismissed or withdrawn.”
Olunekun, therefore stated that it is inappropriate to solely assess the credibility of INEC or the conduct of the 2023 General Election on the number of petitions filed by litigants who, in any case, have the right to do so under the law.
Interestingly, this defence was coming just a day after the conclusion of a two-day capacity-building workshop for media practitioners, particularly members of the INEC Press Corps with the theme: “Ethical, Safety Practices and Critical Issues Relating to the Kogi, Imo, and Bayelsa Governorship Elections”
The workshop, which was organized by INEC with the support of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II) Programme, through the Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) had in attendance 84 journalists selected from the print media, broadcast media, and online media.
The workshop, was organized by INEC with the support of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN II) Programme, through the Development Alternatives Incorporated (DAI) had in attendance 84 journalists selected from the print media, broadcast media, and online media.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu who was represented by the National Commissioner and Chair of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC), Mr Sam Olumekun said the purpose of the exercise was to deepen the participant’s knowledge of the Commission’s processes and procedures, which will go a long way in ensuring factual, balanced, and informed coverage of the Commission’s activities.
He charged journalists to be unbiased in their reportage and present the citizens with factual information that would guide Nigerians to make informed choices to enhance free, fair, and credible elections. He was of the opinion that true democracy cannot exist without effective information flow’.
Prof. Yakubu said, “The Commission is conscious of the critical roles of the media in our political and electoral process and believes that democracy will only grow and flourish through a free and vibrant media.” He however pointed out that “a free and vibrant press is also obliged to adhere to professional and ethical standards. flow.
“As first-hand witnesses to the Commission’s activities, the INEC Press Corps members also become the repository of electoral information in Nigeria. This places them in an advantageous position to play important roles in shaping the opinions and editorial policies of their media organizations on issues relating to the programs and policies of the Commission”.
“The implication is that Press Corps members must be familiar with the Constitutional mandate of the Commission and the roles and powers ascribed to it.
They must therefore strive to understand the intendment and nuances of the powers granted to the Commission by the Constitution and the Electoral Act that are expressed in subsidiary legislations including the Commission’s Regulations, Guidelines, and Manuals.”
National Commissioner and Member, of the Information and Voter Education Committee (IVEC) Prof. Kunle Ajayi, harped on the dangers of fake news and the potential threat it poses to the electoral process.
According to him, “The Commission’s distasteful experience with fake news in the 2023 General Elections has shown that, if not nipped in the bud, fake news can become the bane of election management in Nigeria”.
“The alarming prevalence of misinformation, ‘fake news’, hate speech, and the weaponization of disinformation has become very worrisome to the Commission.
“Disinformation is used to provoke religious, political, and tribal sentiments in an already polarized society such as ours, especially, during election season, which is often the leading cause of electoral violence and uprisings, he added”.
He however suggested ways the Media can assist in mitigating fake news.
He said, “The Press must be committed to delivering thorough, verified, and unbiased information, pulled from credible sources to the public. At the same time, they must refrain from reporting information that encourages divisions or antagonistic discussions, which are likely to incite violence or endanger social life.”
Still on the dangers of Fake news, the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, in a presentation on “Impact of Fake News, Misinformation and Disinformation on Electoral Information”, said the Commission was faced with constant incidences of fake news at every stage of the electoral process in the 2023 General Election.
“These deliberate attempts to discredit the work of the Commission were not just from unknown or unverified sources but also from prominent Nigerians who had a lot of followership”.
In a goodwill message, the Team Leader of DAI, Rudolf Elbling, observed that Nigerian journalists are well-trained professionals, but it is always worthwhile to come back to certain principles which are crucial, to a credible and peaceful electoral process.
One other critical issue tackled at the workshop was the controversy surrounding mode of election results declaration by INEC.
The Commission categorically stated that the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) is not a system for collation or transmitting election results but an innovation intended to enhance transparency in an election.
The Director of ICT, Engr. Paul Omokore provided this clarification during his presentation titled: “The role of BVAS, IReV for Bayelsa, Kogi and Imo Governorship elections” at a two-day capacity workshop for journalists in Akwanga, Nasarawa State on Monday.
Engr. Omokore advised journalists and the public not to confuse the uploading of polling unit (PU) results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) with electronic transmission of results.
He explained that the INEC Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is only used to upload pictures of the EC8A forms, which contain the Polling Unit results, to IReV. “This process does not involve electronic transmission of results, he said.
He continued “All it does is snap the EC8A Forms containing collated scores of each party duly signed and stamped, and then send this same picture to the IReV for public viewing. That is all. So, BVAS is not a collation system,” he said.
Engr. Omokore recalled that prior to the use of technology, election results in Nigeria were manually transmitted from the PUs to the collation centres.
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He posited that technology deployment has been effective in achieving free, fair, and credible elections, despite the challenges involved, and explained that INEC continually makes extra efforts to mitigate these challenges.
According to him, “The role of BVAS is to ensure one-person-one-vote. The role of the IReV Portal is to improve the openness and credibility of our elections”.
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