Itodo Calls for Independent Audit of INEC’s BIVAS and IReV Platforms

works as Yiaga Africa’s executive director. He discusses the concerns surrounding the nationwide by-election that was held on Saturday in this recording. He criticizes the role that politicians play in elections, the need for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the National Assembly to improve the electoral process, the electorate’s contribution to democracy, and more. These portions are provided by Joy Anibogu:

What do you think about the authenticity of Saturday’s by-election and the string of accusations?

That this election has finally taken place is wonderful. We know that it will be concluded, even though it hasn’t been yet. Because last year was supposed to be the end of this by-election. No, it wasn’t done. I am aware that a contributing factor in the lengthy election process was the non-release of funds to the independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election’s conduct. And that in and of itself is problematic because underfunding the electoral commission is one way to capture INEC and prevent it from operating. This election is being held today because INEC lacked the resources necessary to carry out the process. Nevertheless, this election today reveals three things. The first is the continued unwillingness of our political elite to follow the fundamental principles of democracy and legitimate elections. Places like Kano, where a large number of thugs were mobilized, are completely unacceptable in and of themselves. Therefore, this is evident. I also have no idea what the general elections in 2027 would be like.

However, does this not imply that voters and the electorate are becoming aware of the principles of democracy as they truly exist?

Well, not quite. Thus, there are a number of problems first. When you think of socio-economic inequality, you think of thuggery. There is a notion that suggests that thuggery is fueled by the lack of opportunity and employment opportunities, which the state denies them. The second is that people want to be used as tools by lawmakers to sabotage the process when they perceive injustice and believe that politicians only embezzle public monies and fail to deliver. Obtain a piece of cake. That is, therefore, one of the problems causing this. However, I dare think that if you go elsewhere and paid attention to what the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) had to say earlier, there was an attempt to take over the process. Ogun State is another place where it can be seen. For one thing, I believe that today’s events are merely a prelude to what will occur in 2027.

Would the two adjectives I used earlier—integrity and management—be a nice prelude to the 2027 elections?

Certainly. mainly for two reasons. One is that, in my opinion, the security services were quite prompt in reprimanding those thugs in locations like Kano. Additionally, we have witnessed arrests in Kaduna and Kano. We have also observed the arrest of a political party agent and two INEC officials. Thus, they responded quickly. It is a by-election, however. Elections in 2027 will be overstretched because they will be held throughout the entire nation. But I want to give them a pass and praise the security services for their promptness during today’s by-election. The third, however, discusses the turnout level and the reasons behind the lack of voters. There are several possible reasons for this. Initially, it can be exhaustion. Furthermore, they simply do not believe that their lives will be changed by their participation in this election. The majority of you will be governed by the minority of you if you stay away, so people who claim their votes don’t count shouldn’t do that. And in and of itself, that is unusual in a democracy.

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In order to prevent bad leaders from winning elections, you must be present. But this won’t be resolved by staying out.

Is the public’s awareness being used by political parties and even non-governmental organizations like yours to drive such campaigns?

Sure, we’re contributing. The media is playing a role as a civic society as well. However, democracy is a process, in my opinion. It takes persuasion, idea competition, and discussion and debate to be a democracy. That is what we, as civil society, will do. Where there are loopholes, we shall keep an eye on our elections. We’ll find those loopholes and disclose them. Civil society, including our institutions, will not compromise on the requirements of accountability for our elected officials. Our criteria for INEC will remain elevated. It is the only way democracy can truly flourish. Therefore, I believe civil society organizations are doing their job to a significant degree, despite the difficulties they confront. The media is likewise carrying out its function in this manner. Ultimately, however, citizens are the kingmakers in a democracy. You may also send a strong message to the political elite that winning an election does not give you legitimacy if they do not raise their voices and you conduct elections all over the state with low turnout.

Electronic voting, also known as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BIVAS), appears to be an illusion after 26 years of democratic progress. The findings from the wards are also released spontaneously to the local government headquarters and other locations in foreign nations, such as Africa. Why does this task seem so challenging in Nigeria?

I don’t believe it’s a difficult task. I believe that the political class’s mindset is what makes it challenging. Their interference with the electoral process is the cause. To make the procedure more streamlined, the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) and BIVAS were implemented. Along with increasing voter accreditation efficiency, the BIVAS was also implemented to restrict duplicate voting and proxy voting. And why? Historically, politicians have manipulated elections by encouraging people to cast multiple ballots. There are three things that need to be considered, but I believe that the fact that these technologies are here and will remain is crucial. The Supreme Court has ruled that IReV is not included in the collation procedure, which is the first.

How should the National Assembly proceed?

Regardless of my stance on the Supreme Court, the National Assembly, particularly the Senate and the House of Representatives, should mandate electronic communication. Therefore, have both electronic and manual transmissions work together and make them legally required. The second is the lack of clarity surrounding INEC’s rules, regulations, and recommendations. According to the court, the rules and regulations are a part of the law and you must largely abide by their requirements. However, it states that the regulations do not form part of the legal framework and that, as electronic transmission is not covered by the Act, regulation cannot be used to introduce it. The third, and possibly final, issue is that we require more transparency and that INEC openly audit and examine the back end of the BIVAS and the back end of the IReV. The guarantee that there is no corruption or manipulation of the INEC BIVAS and IReV servers’ back end is thus provided to voters and stakeholders. Because you can’t expect people to believe you if you run elections in a less than transparent manner. Being transparent is essential if you want people to trust both the process and the result. Because of this, the public is stating that they require a new INEC, and that INEC should be able to do all of these things. In order to increase the number of people who vote in elections and create leaders who will answer to the Nigerian people, we must work to fortify our democracy.

Sure, but you can’t negate the role that money politics play in Nigeria. In any political context, money is a crucial element. Consider the enormous amount of money spent on the US presidential election; in this case, however, money is used as an inducement. How does that benefit our culture of democracy?

While I did hear your first news, one of the parties claimed that the funds were intended for logistics. Now consider this: that’s around 25 million people on election day. There is a single person or even a political organization with that enormous sum of money at a time when Nigerians cannot even boast of eating twice a day. Although it’s unclear if it’s for logistics or vote buying, it does indicate how costly it. In the event that a constituency has 200 polling places, for example, a political party or candidate must send party agents to those polling places. Paying the party agents is required. These are all logistically demanding, but on election day, you cannot have one person with that much money and not raise suspicions. These are the basic questions that we must therefore ask. Why do you need to give your party agents more than N25 million on election day? Other methods of distribution exist. Transfers are something you can do. They also need to have been completed sooner. It is necessary for the security authorities to conduct a thorough investigation. However, if it is proven that this is for vote buying, a criminal offense must be proven, and two factors must be established. Mens rea and actus reus are legal terms. Everything will be taken into consideration, including the act, the intention, and the standard of proof. However, it is encouraging to observe that security forces have detained wealthy persons not just in Kaduna State but also in Ogun or Oyo State. It proves that we are moving forward.

But it appears that there has been little movement in setting up an electoral tribunal to oversee instances like these election-related frauds. Would it support the democratic culture of Nigeria?

Some individuals think that because INEC is tasked with prosecuting electoral offenses under the electoral act, we haven’t been able to do so.

The significant query, however, is whether bribery is illegal under the criminal and penal codes. Many of the offenses we classify as electoral offenses are already crimes recognized by our criminal jurisprudence if you disturb the peace. Then why must we put INEC in charge of prosecuting electoral offenders continuously when INEC claims that these duties are stifling it? A panel to investigate electoral offenses is therefore desperately needed. I fully endorse that. On the other hand, a number of precautions must be taken. First, the Attorney General of the Federation shouldn’t have any authority over the commission’s day-to-day operations. The constitutional authority granted to the Attorney General of the Federation to conduct internal prosecutions and to halt criminal cases must be eliminated in regard to electoral offenses. Consequently, other necessary steps must be made to safeguard the prosecution of electoral criminals in addition to the creation of an electoral offenses commission. If electoral criminals are not prosecuted, however, there is a general lack of accountability. The big question is that, as one of the lawmakers mentioned to me a few weeks ago, we are the ones who commit these electoral offenses. By this, we mean the political class, who perpetrate these crimes but are also the ones who are supposed to enact laws. You really believe they’ll enact laws that contradict themselves? You can’t do that. The problems are thus those.