Pressure on security agents, INEC for credible Anambra poll
With less than 24 hours to the gubernatorial election in Anambra State, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Nigerian security agencies have been urged to ensure a free, fair and credible election.
Amid the precarious security situation in the state, observers say INEC and security agencies perhaps, face a tough task of ensuring the exercise is held as scheduled without ugly incidents.
In their meeting with stakeholders in the last few days, INEC and the police had expressed their readiness for the gubernatorial election, assuring voters of their safety, and urging them to come out and cast their votes without fear.
There are concerns that the spate of insecurity in the state, which has led to a series of violent attacks in the last few months and the sit-at-home order by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), could affect the conduct of the election, particularly as it could engender voter apathy.
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To ensure peace before, during and after the election, thousands of security officers and personnel of other sister agencies have been deployed to the state.
On October 14, about 34,587 officers were deployed, while additional 98 senior officers were also deployed on October 26.
Speaking at the stakeholders’ forum on the preparation for the election in Akwa, the state capital, on Wednesday, November 3, Usman Baba, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), said the deployment was to reassure residents of the Federal Government’s protection.
“This massive deployment is not designed to intimidate the law-abiding as being insinuated in some quarters. On the contrary, it is to reassure them of adequate protection by deterring misguided political elements as well as non-state actors that might be bent on threatening the election through acts of armed violence or other conducts that violate the provisions of the Electoral Act,” Baba said.
Baba further said it was to also serve as a strong warning that government was determined to bring subversive characters to justice should they attempt to cause trouble.
Speaking on the conduct of the election during the week, Mahmood Yakubu, national chairman, INEC, said the commission was prepared to deliver a free, fair and credible election, pointing out however that the only challenge before the commission was how to ensure the newly registered voters took part in the election.
He urged all voters to come out and participate as every arrangement had been made to ensure a peaceful election.
“When the commission released the timetable for the conduct of the election 11 months ago, the feeling was that the time would not come. The time is already here, we only have days left and we are going to go as a commission.
“To ensure that the newly registered voters take part, we decided to contact them through their email and GSM numbers to inform them of the locations to get their cards,” Yakubu said.
Although there have been divergent views on the benefits of the massive deployment of security personnel for the election, some members of the public have called for caution, saying it was capable of scaring away eligible voters.
Observers also advise the security operatives deployed to the state to be professional and not partisan in the discharge of their duties on Election Day.
“It is very simple! The two of them must follow the global standard required by them in an electoral process. That is, the INEC must not only be perceived as transparent and unbiased but also its officials at all levels of the election process must carry out their responsibilities with utmost good faith in tandem with the provisions of the Electoral Acts,” Kunle Okunade, a political analyst, says.
Okunade notes that recent events have shown that security agents had been used to compromise elections in Nigeria, which must change.
“In the last few years, security agencies have often been alleged of playing a role in electoral malpractices; so, it will be appropriate for the sake of the credibility of the election, that security agents should strictly act based on its responsibilities stated in the Electoral Act,” he states.
Chekwas Okorie, a founding member of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), however, expresses concern on the readiness of the security agencies to be professional in the discharge of their duties, predicting that the election would be marred by low turnout.
“So far, INEC has done what is expected of them; Anambra, may be, because of the peculiar situation in the state, the situation now is overwhelming to the point of fear. Our security personnel have not been known to discharge their duties professionally; that is the fear in town. Would they change now? There would be an election but there would be massive poor turnout,” he says.
A coalition of the 18 registered political parties in Nigeria under the aegis of Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) on Wednesday also called on the INEC and security agencies to ensure that the Anambra poll is credible, fair and transparent.
Leonard Nzenwa, chairman of IPAC and national chairman, African Action Congress (AAC), at press conference in Abuja, said it was important that INEC and security agencies commit to ensuring fairness and transparency during the election.
“INEC should provide a level playing field to all political parties and their candidates participating in the election and ensure electoral materials are provided, and that voting starts as scheduled in all polling units in the state.
“The neutrality of INEC in this election will determine the survival of democracy in Nigeria. All eyes are on the commission and its officials as they discharge this onerous civic responsibility,” Nzenwa said.
About 18 candidates from 18 political parties are taking part in the off-season gubernatorial election.
