Following the Kano State Local Government Election held on 10th February 2018, there have been a number of studies within the media, notably the social media, alleging that underaged individuals voted within the election. Both specific and implicit in a few of these studies was the suggestion that because the National Register of Voters compiled by INEC was used within the election, the alleged downside of underaged voting within the Kano Local Government election is linked to a prevalence of underaged registrants within the National Register of Voters.
I have to word that until date, not a single formal grievance on this matter has been acquired by the Commission. Rather, some stakeholders, together with a political get together, have taken to the media to criticize INEC and in some circumstances to impugn the integrity of the National Register of Voters. Concerned that a number of the claims being made in regards to the Register may create doubts within the minds of residents about INEC’s preparations for the forthcoming basic elections, the Commission on 21st February 2018 arrange an investigation panel into the allegations that underaged individuals voted within the Kano State Local Government election, utilizing the Register of Voters given to the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) by INEC, as prescribed by legislation.
For the avoidance of doubt, let me emphasize first, that INEC was not in any approach concerned in organizing the Kano State Local Government election past the authorized requirement that the register of voters compiled by INEC ought to be utilized in all Local Government elections nationwide. The conduct of that election was fully the accountability of KANSIEC. Secondly, let me additionally emphasize that the investigative committee was not established to inquire into the overall conduct of the Kano State Local Government election or to inquire into the group or challenges of KANSIEC. Indeed, INEC has no authorized remit to take action. Rather, because the Terms of Reference of the Committee present, its function was strictly to inquire into claims linking the register of voters compiled by INEC and the alleged incidents of underaged voting within the election.
The investigative committee had National Commissioner Engineer Abubakar Nahuche as Chairman, one other National Commissioner Barrister May Agbamuche-Mbu, two Resident Electoral Commissioners (Barristers Mike Igini and Kassim Geidam) in addition to some Directors and employees of the Commission, who're specialists in ICT, as members. It has since submitted its Report. The Commission has fastidiously thought-about the report and accepted its findings and suggestions. Based on its Terms of Reference, there are 4 key factors within the findings and suggestions of the Committee, which can be summarised as follows:
i. Kano State Independent Electoral Commission requested for and acquired from INEC the Kano State Register of Voters for the election. The Register was produced to be used for the elections. However, the Register was solely sighted in a number of polling models. In different phrases, the Register was not utilized in a lot of the polling models. In reality, accreditation utilizing the Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC) largely didn't happen.
ii. Given that the Register was considerably not used to accredit voters earlier than voting, it's logical to conclude that if underaged voting occurred within the election, it was not because of any presence of underaged registrants on the Register of Voters. However, after analyzing a number of the photographs in circulation, the Committee discovered that they've been out there lengthy earlier than the Kano Local Government Elections. The few photographs and video clips from Kano present no accreditation of voters or any relationship with the Register of Voters.
iii. There is want and ample room for collaboration between INEC and all stakeholders to proceed to replace and enhance the National Register of Voters to remove all ineligible registrants from it, together with lifeless individuals, aliens and underaged registrants.
iv. INEC ought to work with the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) to make sure steady enhancements within the high quality of all elections performed in Nigeria.
Since the central curiosity of the Commission and Nigerians on this stays the National Register of Voters as a result of it's the bedrock of the 2019 basic elections, let me share with you a number of information in regards to the present register of voters.
Essentially, the current register of voters is the one compiled by the final Commission in 2011. Recall that earlier than 2011, the register of voters was filled with errors together with unusual entries like Mike Tyson, incorrect entries and misplaced information. Although the pre-2011 register was presupposed to comprise the fingerprints of registrants, the final Commission discovered that a lot of the fingerprints have been lacking or of very poor high quality. Also, there have been integration points and loads of knowledge have been misplaced as a result of they have been collected utilizing incompatible platforms. In addition, there have been a number of registrations, as there was minimal try to take away a number of entries from the register. These have been a number of the issues that the final Commission tried to resolve by embarking on contemporary registration of voters in 2011.
Since the 2011 basic elections, the Commission has been updating this register in accordance with the legislation alongside three traces: (i) addition of recent registrants from the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR); (ii) extra stringent working of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to establish a number of registrants and take away them; and (iii) updating incomplete information equivalent to entries with incomplete fingerprints and wrongly spelt names amongst others. These turned notably essential with the introduction of the PVC and Smart Card Reader (SCR). For this cause, information with out fingerprints needed to be up to date, in any other case, the involved voters won't be able to vote utilizing the PVC and SCR. As a results of these updates and clear up, a remaining register of 68,833,476 was used for the 2015 basic elections.
Consequently, this Commission believes that it inherited a register that:
i. Meets an excessive normal of biometric registration. In reality, many different international locations have subsequently learnt from INEC in dealing with their very own registers. For occasion, in the course of the latest Presidential election in Liberia, the nation’s National Electoral Commission (NEC), by means of the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), which I at the moment chair, requested the providers of INEC employees to type out points with their register. Their work has been extremely counseled by these organizations and the diplomatic group for contributing to the success of the Liberian election;
ii. Contains 68.eight million legitimate entries, simply the biggest single database of Nigerians in existence;
iii. Supports fingerprint matching for authentication of voters throughout elections utilizing the SCR;
iv. Supports the introduction of machine readable, chip-based PVC; and
v. Ensures steady updating by means of the Continuous Voter Registration, as prescribed by legislation.
Under the current INEC, solely 432,233 new registrants have been added to our nationwide Voter Register. This represents zero.9 % improve on the Register used for the 2015 basic elections. These additions got here basically from the CVR carried out in 2015 and 2016 in States the place we performed low season Governorship elections particularly Bayelsa, Kogi, Edo and Ondo in addition to the FTC Area Council elections. From April 2017 after we commenced the CVR to December of the identical 12 months, some three,981,502 new registrants have been recorded, together with figures from Anambra State Governorship election held in November 2017. This determine represents the primary main additions to the Register since this Commission got here on board. Even so, apart from the 190,767 new registrants added to the voter register in Anambra State, the brand new registrants are nearly to be added to the nationwide Register.
It is essential to remind us that this National Register of Voters has been used to conduct the 2011 and 2015 basic elections, in addition to a number of re-run, low season and by-elections. Most of those elections haven't solely been adjudged to satisfy worldwide requirements however have additionally produced various outcomes for various political events at completely different occasions. Indeed, the Register used within the Kano Local Government election of 10th February 2018 was the one compiled in 2011, up to date in 2014 and used for the 2015 basic elections.
This Commission didn't add a single identify to the voter register. As with all elections, some political events have received and a few have misplaced utilizing the identical Register. In reality, many constituencies have modified from one political get together to a different between elections on the premise of the identical Register. Therefore, for anybody to recommend that the identical register, on the premise of which political events have received and misplaced elections at completely different occasions, is out of the blue unreliable is curious to say the least.
Let me reiterate that this Commission is satisfied that we now have a reliable register, even when it isn't good. We consider that it's a large nationwide asset, simply the biggest database of Nigerians in existence at present containing over 70 million entries of names, addresses, images, ten fingerprints, phone numbers and many others. I implore all Nigerians to see the worth of this nationwide asset and work with the Commission to proceed to enhance it. Considering that there are few if any good voters roll wherever, we are able to proceed to work along with stakeholders and certainly all residents to make sure that all ineligible registrants and entries are faraway from the register and that eligible voters who haven't registered benefit from the continued CVR.
Let me additionally share with you what we've got been doing and what we plan to do as a Commission to proceed to replace the register and take away ineligible entries from it.
First, we've got made registration extra steady than ever earlier than, ranging from April 2017. We repeatedly show the provisional register after every CVR train for claims and objections, as required by legislation. This normally lasts between 5 and 14 days. We enchantment to Nigerians to all the time use the chance of this show to alert the Commission about ineligible registrants, together with underaged individuals and aliens, in addition to incorrect particulars of registrants.
Second, additionally as required by legislation, we've got constantly given political events copies of the register for every year and forward of basic elections in addition to Governorship low season elections. Only just lately, on 28th February 2018, we gave every of the 68 political events a replica of the register containing names of the three.9 million new voters registered in 2017. We urged them to make use of the register not solely to succeed in out to voters, but additionally to verify whether or not there are ineligible individuals on the record and draw the eye of the Commission to them. Unfortunately, since this Commission was inaugurated in 2015, there has not been a single report from any political get together of ineligible voters on the Register.
Third, we've got been working with the Nigerian Immigration Service to remove aliens from the Register by confiscating PVCs from aliens who should not entitled to vote, thereby figuring out them for elimination from the Register. Furthermore, the Immigration Service has promised to publish their officers to registration centres throughout CVR to verify the incidence of alien registrants.
Fourth, we intend by means of our Registration Area Officers (RAOs) to have interaction communities in all our eight,809 Registration Areas or Wards on a steady foundation to establish deceased individuals and different ineligible registrants for elimination from the Register. We have developed a RAOs Log Book particularly for this engagement. We enchantment to Nigerians to cooperate with them in figuring out ineligible registrants for elimination.
Fifth, we intend to incorporate main civil society teams and the media within the publication of the Register of Voters sooner or later. Section 20 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) gives that the Register be revealed 30 days earlier than a basic election. In addition to political events, we intend to incorporate different classes of stakeholders by making out there copies of the register to them. Of course, that is with out prejudice to the best of each Nigerian to use for and obtain the Register on the fee of the mandatory charges as enshrined within the Electoral Act. We hope that CSOs and the media can even take part figuring out ineligible registrants for elimination.
Sixth, after the continued CVR, which because the legislation gives will finish not later than 60 days to the forthcoming basic elections on 16th February 2019 – please word that the legislation says not later than 60 days, which implies that the CVR should finish on or earlier than the 60th day to the election – we intend to show not solely the provisional register, however all the Register in any respect the Registration Areas/Wards throughout the nation. This once more will present a great alternative for all residents to interrogate the Register and establish ineligible registrants, together with underaged individuals, for elimination.
Finally, the Commission notes the advice of the Nahuche Committee that collaboration between INEC and SIECs is important to enhance the standard of elections in Nigeria, together with Local Government elections. In reality, INEC has solid a longstanding relationship with the Forum of State Independent Electoral Commissions of Nigeria (FORSIECON), the umbrella physique of SIECs. We shall proceed to collaborate with FORSIECON in the direction of establishing strong pathways to enhancing the standard of all elections performed in Nigeria. Some of the concepts already mooted embrace drafting of a mannequin legislation establishing SIECs to carry them in keeping with the Electoral Act and international greatest practices, in addition to the event of voluntary “Guiding Principles for the Conduct of Free, Fair and Credible Elections in Nigeria” to which we count on all 37 Election Management Bodies in Nigeria to accede.
Ironically there was a silver lining within the cloud of allegations of underaged voting within the Kano State Local Government elections. It is offering the Commission a possibility to take one other take a look at the Register and to have interaction with stakeholders on easy methods to proceed to replace and enhance it, notably by means of the elimination of ineligible registrants. As we've got constantly promised Nigerians, as a Commission, we will proceed to be open to criticisms, settle for shortcomings and take daring corrective steps each time vital. All we ask is for Nigerians to see election and the processes associated to it, not because the enterprise of INEC alone, however as a collective nationwide challenge.
Prof Yakubu is the Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission.