Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, has accused Nigeria’s political elite of lacking faith in free, fair and transparent elections, alleging that vote-buying and attempts to manipulate results are being used to undermine voters’ choices.
Okoye made the remarks on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday, October 20, where he criticised political actors for seeking to control election outcomes rather than allow citizens to freely elect their leaders.
“I think that political elite in this country really do not believe in free, fair, and transparent election. They just want to buy the votes of the people. They want to replace the people as the sovereign, and it is very unfortunate,” Okoye said.
He argued that the credibility of an election depends on whether voters can cast their ballots without intimidation, coercion or undue pressure.
“The mark of a free, fair and transparent election is the ability of the people to go to the polling units to cast their votes without any form of intimidation, without any form of coercion, and without any form of duress.
“But in this country, what we are now having is a situation where political parties have no ideologies, political parties are not campaigning on any issue, all they know is that on election day they will find a way of making sure that the votes of the people really do not count.”
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The former electoral commissioner also faulted political parties for failing to distinguish themselves through clear ideologies and issue-based campaigns, warning that such shortcomings weaken democratic competition and public confidence in elections.
On improving the electoral process, Okoye advocated continued reforms and the adoption of technology where appropriate to strengthen election credibility.
“I think that what is important is for the country to keep on improving and also keep on deploying technology as at when due in our electoral process.
“But more importantly, I think the media, civil society groups and organisations, and the Nigerian people generally must focus attention on the activities of the political elite before, during and after election.”
He urged the media, civil society organisations and Nigerians to scrutinise the conduct of political leaders before, during and after elections, stressing that protecting the integrity of the ballot requires sustained public vigilance.
Okoye also highlighted the importance of ad hoc election personnel, including members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other Nigerians recruited for electoral duties, noting that they play a more prominent role in conducting elections at polling units than INEC’s regular staff.