16th December, 2022
By Jethro Ibileke
Yiaga Africa has said that the 2022 Electoral Act has the potential to revolutionize the conduct and outcome of elections in Nigeria, if its potentials are fully maximized.
The citizens-led non governmental organization in a statement on Friday, noted that the 2023 general elections will mark a pivotal phase in Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
According to the statement, the successful signing of the Electoral Bill into law was a sign of hope for major stakeholders and citizens who engaged in the process as it provided a reviewed legal framework that enables transparent elections in Nigeria.
It added that if fully implemented, the Electoral Act will reduce indiscretion in Nigeria’s elections and expand opportunities for transparency that will improve citizens’ participation in the electoral process.
The statement said:
“Having gone through a litmus test in the 2022 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states, the Electoral Act 2022 is proving to be a potential way forward in strengthening Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
“The innovative provisions such as the legalization of the electronic accreditation of voters using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the transmission of the election results in the new act, if fully implemented, will no doubt reduce indiscretion in Nigeria’s elections and expand opportunities for transparency that will improve citizens’ participation in the electoral process.
“Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the provisions of the new Act are being tested as it has so far regulated the conduct of pre-election activities like the Political Party primaries process, political campaigns and INEC’s preparations for the elections.”
Yiaga Africa however urged key stakeholders in the elections to ensure smooth processes, election periods are often not without foundational issues which tend to undermine its credibility.
These, it said, include security of election personnel, materials and citizens and issues bordering on logistics especially for the deployment of poll officials and materials in hard to reach communities due to difficult and inaccessible terrain.
It also raised concerns over “neutrality and composition of INEC at both the National and Sub-National levels. These contexts create a more vulnerable system to electoral manipulation and electoral violence which are risk factors for the conduct of credible and acceptable elections.”
“For Yiaga Africa, the criticality of the 2023 elections requires a comprehensive and independent observation of the electoral process from the pre-election phase into the election day process and post-election.
“Accordingly, Yiaga Africa’s Watching the Vote deployed trained long-term citizen observers across the 774 LGAs to observe the pre-election environment and report findings bi-weekly,” it added.