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Open Letter To The National Assembly On Nigeria Elections – Enacting A Rigging-Free Voting System Unique To The Nigerian Situation By Gbenga A. United Kingdom
Introduction
The 14th April and 21st April 2007 national elections have come and gone with many attendant issues, well documented in all the Nigerian news media. Indeed, commendation should be given to the FG and INEC for keeping these dates with history. One thing that the 2007 elections have portrayed in no uncertain terms is that vote rigging has become an endemic part of the Nigerian culture. What with the brazen impunity with which ballot boxes/papers and other election materials were snatched and/or diverted and the unthinkable/embarrassing multiple thumbprinting (ballot stuffing) that took place at private and/or public places. From evidence documented in the news media, no state of the federation has been exempt from this cankerworm (brazen rigging) that has bedevilled our national life. People, let us call as spade a spade.
Another problem that has been a ‘bone in the neck’ is the issue of inadequate logistics. Irrespective of the good intentions proposed and portrayed by the INEC, we must be modest enough to accept that logistics were more than a major issue in the 2007 elections. Examples of this are insufficient ballot papers at polling centres, printing errors on ballot papers, late voting/ no voting due to delayed arrival of election materials, lack of security of election materials (leading to snatching/diversion) etc. Now, this is no peculiar problem to INEC as it also affected the NPC and the census it conducted not too long ago. It is expected that these twin problems of brazen rigging and inadequate logistics will become non-issues as we mature and gradually become a developed nation. However, let the truth be told that these are issues at present and we must find ad-hoc solutions to them in order that these do not bring our nation to unnecessary and recurrent standstill and/or waste.
Enacting a rigging-free voting system unique to the Nigerian situation
As a short-term solution to these twin problems, the Nigerian National Assembly should with urgent dispatch enact a law compelling the INEC to conduct all elections henceforth without the use of ballot papers/boxes. Yes, without the use of ballot papers/boxes. The Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) of the June 12, 1993 fame readily comes to mind. The MOBS is a unique Nigerian solution to an endemic Nigerian problem (i.e. Rigging – an appalling species of the monster called corruption).
With the MOBS, accreditation and verification of party representatives and registered voters takes place at all polling centres on the morning of the election after which voting takes place at all polling centres nationwide simultaneously at a specific time in the afternoon. Voting is done by voters queuing openly in line with the candidates/parties of their choice and a head count performed by the INEC staff in the presence of all voters. The results are documented on a security-printed INEC results sheet using secured ink and then re-announced at the polling centre to the confirmation of all, after which it is signed by all the INEC staff on duty and all accredited representatives of political parties.
It is proposed that the MOBS is now backed up by video and audio evidence at all polling centres nationwide. The approach to this strategy can be multifaceted. INEC can install miniature video cameras at all polling centres using the money saved by not using ballots. Also, accredited party representatives can use their own video cameras. Finally, the voting electorate can provide a broad base of video/audio evidence going by the fact that most Nigerians now have access to mobile camera phones and digital audio recorders. Since many developed nations use CCTV anyway (to monitor peoples’ behaviour in public places), this cost-effective video evidence proposed will play a super role in mitigating all forms of electoral malpractices on the election day.
Advantages of enacting the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) as law
1. It is a unique Nigerian solution, tried and tested before, with widely-acknowledged success 2. It is inexpensive (cost-effective) as there is no need to print or distribute ballot papers. 3. It effectively eliminates the possibility of political mercenaries snatching and/or diverting ballot papers. 4. There is no delay in commencement of voting due to late arrival of ballot papers 5. It eliminates the occurrence of multiple voting/ballot stuffing as voting is done by headcount 6. It saves time as there is no need to cast ballots. 7. It is transparent, done in the full glare of all voters 8. It produces immediate and accurate election results at the polling centres. 9. The results announced by INEC are easily verifiable by performing a mathematical operation on the publicly determined voting results at each polling centre. 10. When backed up by video/audio evidence, it is easily verifiable in a court of law and every injustice reverted.
Disadvantages of enacting the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) as law
Dealing with the disadvantages of MOBS
The MOBS look primitive but it is not alien to present human behaviour in all modern societies since it is practiced at determining democratic consensus in our every day lives (e.g. raising up of hands to express your choice of ‘yes’ or ‘no’). The lack of secrecy is a major defect of the MOBS. However, we must weigh the sacrifice of this secrecy vis-à-vis the violence, fraud and mistrust that presently prevail in our electoral process at present. As exemplified by the June 12, 1993 elections, Nigerians are willing to lay down their secrecy if that will ensure a free and fair voting process. People, why deceive ourselves? We spend so much to achieve so little. Why invest so much only to be sabotaged repeatedly by the brazen acts of political bandits on election day. These uncivil people find easy refuge in the weakness associated with the use of ballots in a developing society like ours. On the issue of voter intimidation at polling centres, the following recommendations are made:
1. INEC should spend money saved from ballots to ensure the availability of well-equipped and sufficient number of polling centres nationwide. By law, no polling centres shall exceed its allocation in terms of maximum number of voter registered per centre e.g. 500 persons. 2. INEC shall by law ensure a massive voter education through the mass media before all elections. This includes appropriate voter behaviour at polling centres and voters standing up and defending their votes. 3. INEC shall by law ensure that each polling centre is well secured by using the appropriate security agencies. The security men (Police? Soldiers?) assigned to polling centres must be massively educated on the need to perform their duties without fear or favour to any parties. They must be made to know that they will be subjected to multi-faceted video evidence at polling centres and will be prosecuted/dismissed if caught tampering with the electoral process. 4. INEC shall be subject to prosecution and/or other punitive measures in the failure to perform the duties listed above
Using MOBS for multiparty elections
It has been previously argued (and rightly so) that MOBS was previously tried in Nigeria under a two-party system and as such, the multiparty system will prove to be much different. However, if the number of voters per polling centre is the same, this becomes no more that a statistical rearrangement and as such is no different really. The following procedure is therefore proposed for multiparty elections using MOBS:
- At the time set for voting, the INEC staff at a polling centre shall announce to voters the readiness to commence voting. Each candidate contesting (with party logo displayed) will be announced by the INEC staff turn by turn and queues formed by the voters. For example, If 25 candidates are contesting, then we will have 25 simultaneous queues. No ballot box/papers are needed. At the end of queue forming, vote counting shall commence by clearly audible head count per queue and the results recorded in the full glare of all. All other procedures shall conform with the previous description of MOBS.
Conclusion – A time to act
If we appreciate democracy, then we must defend it. If we want it, then we must go all out for it: no half measures. Democracy is about the collective will of the people, not the will of a select few. The national assembly is therefore implored as a matter of utmost urgency to review the electoral act immediately to reflect the adoption of the Modified Open Ballot System (MOBS) as the only legal voting system for elections (a unique Nigerian solution for an endemic Nigerian problem) henceforth, at least for the next decade, till we mature fully as a nation entrenched in democratic principles. We can do it; we can do it now and leave an indelible legacy for the future. It is tried and tested (June 12), it is cost-effective and time-efficient, it is robust against brazen rigging and inadequate logistics, it is transparent and it is easily verifiable. Let us do it right because we can.
Gbenga A. United Kingdom.
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