DISENFRANCHISEMENT BY LOCATION: AN ANALYSIS OF INSTITUTIONS AND STRUCTURES

DISENFRANCHISEMENT BY LOCATION: AN ANALYSIS OF INSTITUTIONS AND STRUCTURES
By
Chisom, JOHN O.
ogbonniachisom@yahoo.com

In a few days, the most populous black Country in the world would head to the polls to decide the path of their future for the next four years and beyond.
Nigeria and Nigerians rewrote the history books during the 2015 general elections as a sitting President was ousted from Office for the first time in the history of the country’s fragile democracy. With a much more fragile democracy and weakened democratic institutions post 2015, the 2019 elections cannot be any more pertinent.
The most controversial decision of the 2015 general election was the Six weeks’ postponement of the General Elections by INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) under the guise of ‘security reasons’. This decision flared up the polity and was considered by the then opposition party the APC (All Progressives Congress) to be a last ditch attempt by the Goodluck Jonathan Administration to manipulate the election, stretch the campaign finances of their party (APC) and submerge the will of the Nigerian people. As ‘politically motivated’ and controversial the decision of INEC may be at that time, painfully so, it was a step in the right direction as the issue of ‘disenfranchisement’ due to security challenges is a threat to a free, fair and credible election in itself and as such, should not be overlooked except of course one is disinterested in credible polls.  A lot of observers at that time were chasing shadows to the utter neglect of substance as regards the decision by INEC to postpone the Election. Many questions were raised and a lot answered by that sole decision: Was insecurity rife in the North East as at 2015? Yes; Would that insecurity mean that by implication voters would be disenfranchised in the said region? Yes; Were there genuine efforts by security agencies to tackle the situation? Yes; Did the security agencies gain positive grounds against insurgents in the specified weeks? Yes, former President HE Goodluck Ebele Jonathan visited a once regarded stronghold of the insurgents Bama himself; Did this Lead to voter confidence and increased participation in the North East? Absolutely YES.
Elections are key in any democratic setting and the ability for citizens to exercise their franchise unconstrained, a prerequisite for any election to be considered free, fair and credible. This work looks at how the actions and inactions of the security agencies in the State and INEC would inadvertently lead to disenfranchisement as a result of the location of electorates in the 2019 general election.
The security situation of the country is worrisome and cataclysmic to say the least. According to Amnesty International Report 2017/18: the state of the world’s human right “there remained at least 1.7 million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the North Eastern States of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa; 39% lived in camps or similar settings and 61% in host communities”. Also in an Amnesty International Nigeria Publication titled ‘Harvest of Death: Three years of Bloody clashes between farmers and Herders in Nigeria’, the total number of people killed from January 2016- October 2018 in the select States (22 States, FCT inclusive) affected by the Farmers Vs Herders Clashes alone was three thousand six hundred and fourty one (3641) persons “Benue 726 deaths, Adamawa 540, Plateau 492, Zamfara 489, Taraba 453, Kaduna 414, Nasarawa 196, Enugu 46…” among others.  The Boko Haram menace has intensified over the past year and a new deadlier faction ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) has emerged in the decade long battle. In an article titled ‘Islamic State seeking next chapter, makes inroads into West Africa’ by Joe Parkinson and Drew Hinshaw published on the 3rd of February 2019 on Wall Street Journal it estimated that ISWAP has the Strength of About five thousand (5000) men and “seasoned fighters from Libya and the Middle East have returned to augment ISWAP ranks”.
From the foregoing, it can be noted that the security situation is bleak, the military is overstretched by the increasing guerrilla warfare across states in the North and with the recent reports of people fleeing the menace of armed bandits in Zamfara State to Katsina and to border countries (Chad and Niger) any talk of positives from the current situation have been dealt a heavy blow. Due to the debacle, disenfranchisement of citizens in the affected states would be rife as the fear for lives and properties would overwhelm the zeal to exercise ones’ franchise and therefore lead to political apathy on the one hand and the massive movement of people due to violence or the fear of it (typically plaguing Nigeria elections) on the other hand would contribute to a situation whereby eligible voters are unable to express themselves in the polls.
INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) for all its ‘Laudable’ effort in some states have been unable to satisfactorily distribute PVCs (Permanent Voters Card) in others. This particular problem has continued to plague elections and become a reoccurring experience for electorates who admittedly would find it easier “crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe than getting their PVC”. The deplorable experience of some voters begs the questions: What Lessons did INEC learn from the 2015 exercise? What strategic plan was put in place to ameliorate the PVC distribution problems? How and at what level is the implementation of the said plan? A society that fails to plan lacks vision and mission (a chart Nigeria should rank top worldwide). While those questions are yet unanswered, the continuous postponement of the deadline day for PVC collection is an indicator of what line the answers would tilt towards regarding the questions. Geroge Edem described his attempts to collect his PVC in Lagos state as futile and frustrating. In his words “INEC do not have a permanent location just mere transit camps as they stay at private and public school premises and my PVC transfer request till this day has not be met.  My right to vote has been trampled on”. In another interview, Utazi John also expressed his displeasure with INEC, “I registered for PVC in June 2017 at Nsukka LGA of Enugu State. The day I went for collection of PVC I was given a contact to call. I called and the man directed that I submit my TVC for easy location of my PVC. Till this day I have not been able to get my PVC and TVC. I have been disenfranchised and my fundamental rights denied. No thanks to INEC”. On a more positive outlook, Mr Abubakar stated unequivocally that he did not face any challenges in the collection of his PVC he said “I registered at Tunga Maje, Abuja in 2011 and I did transfer of PVC to Bwari area of Abuja as at October 2018 and was able to successfully collect my PVC by January 2019”. It would be a big plus if INEC could adopt the processes for PVC collection that worked seamlessly in some states to others or adjust the PVC collection procedure to suit the circumstances of different states as they arise.
On the issue of PVC transfer, the publicity of the process is below par. Already existing voters can only cast their votes in their wards of registration and any desire to cast a vote elsewhere can only be possible after a PVC transfer is done. In the words of Albert Einstein “A clever person solves a problem, a wise person avoids it”. The issue of PVC transfer in particular is needless and should have been avoided in the first instance with a PVC that is not location bound thereby making it useable wherever one may find oneself.
No country in the world can boast of a 100% foolproof electoral process not even the United States of America (with recent accusations of Russia meddling in their election) therefore it would be unfair to demand a 100% foolproof electoral process from INEC and even worse, not to demand for the basics of freedom and ease to exercise ones’ right to vote.