As the first of the three consecutive election weekends in Nigeria arrives on the 2^nd of April 2011, never has it been more the duty and responsibility of Nigerians to ensure that their express wishes at the ballot box are transparently, fairly, honestly and truthfully represented in the results that are announced in all the elections they participate in.

Following the notices that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disseminated to the public through their website, on social media sites as Twitter and at press conferences, it is incumbent on every Nigerian to be aware of their rights as they exercise their constitutional rights to vote in their representatives and governments.

Get informed

Your first source of information is the INEC website [1], the guidelines they issued [2] regarding the elections have been condensed into a blog with related sites to help you understand what will happen on Election Day.

The @inecnigeria Twitter account posted a number of tweets that have been collated into a blog at NigeriansTalk.Org as a primer on the elections [3], the paper trail of how the results of the elections will be announced by Presiding Officers at the Polling Unit, the Registration Area, the Local Government Area, the State Level and at the Federal Level by the Chief Electoral Officer is documented in the blog that shows the INEC Electoral Chain of Custody [4].

Beyond vigilance, Nigerians must protect their votes and this starts by knowing their rights, all derived from all the guidelines given by INEC.

Your rights at the Polling Unit

It is the right of every Nigerian to help ensure the independence and impartiality of INEC is protected, guaranteed and enforced to the full by participation in the electoral process.

It is the right of every registered voter to be at their Polling Unit on Election Day from when it opens for accreditation at 08:00AM until when the results of the vote at that Polling Unit are published and posted at that Polling Unit.

All accredited voters are entitled by right and by encouragement of INEC to visit their Polling Units with their mobile devices and use them freely at their Polling Units. (This invalidates, countermands and renders illegal the atrocious warning [5] of the Inspector General of Police.)

Avail yourselves of the ReVoDa Voter Monitoring System [6] to report events at your Polling Unit.

It is the right of every accredited Nigerian voter to vote according to their persuasion, their conscience, their conviction and never under duress or inducement by any politician, religious or tribal leader or for compensation.

It is the right of every accredited Nigerian voter to use their vote wisely, the people we elect in April with run the country for the next four years, their decisions will affect our lives at home and abroad, our future, our prospects, our progress, our economy, our livelihoods and much more – ensure the party that has your endorsement at the ballot box can and will affect your life as a Nigerian for the better.

If you have doubts or have questions that have not been properly addressed today, endeavour to research and appreciate who really can deliver the Nigerian vision you have.

The INEC Official is chief

The most senior Nigerian Official at any accredited Polling Unit and all the collation centres is the INEC official; security agents answer to the INEC official and that INEC official controls all the activities that help in the smooth running of the electoral process relying on the support of INEC assistants and the law enforcement duties of security agents under the order and control of that INEC official.

The INEC official should ensure all activities are transparent to the accredited monitors, the assembled and accredited voters, the security agents and the party agents.

Law enforcement personnel are subject to INEC on electoral matters

All law enforcement personnel when it pertains to the electoral process are answerable to the designated INEC official at that location and they shall not act outside the remit and authority of the INEC official during the whole electoral exercise.

It goes without saying that the Inspector General of Police is also answerable to the authority of INEC when it pertains to electoral matters on all Election Days at all INEC designated electoral premises throughout the federation.

The function of law enforcement is to maintain peace and order as well as facilitate the ability for Nigerians to observe the conduct of free, fair, honest and transparent elections.

One function of law enforcement personnel on Election Days is to enforce the restrictions on vehicular movement and unauthorised travel.

INEC and law enforcement with their weight of responsibility are at the service of the people of Nigeria NOT the other way round.

2011 is the now; this is the time you have to make a difference with your vote.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS IN 2011 and refuse to let your rights be infringed by anyone in the April Elections.

Sources

[1] INEC Nigeria

[2] Nigeria: INEC Election Guidelines – Critical Information

[3] Nigeria: A Primer on INEC Elections in April 2011 | NigeriansTalk

[4] Nigeria: INEC Electoral Chain of Custody

[5] April polls: Soyinka slams IGP over use of cell phones

[6] ReVoDa | How it works

Update: Nigeria: INEC Election Guidelines – Critical Information

This blog has been a veritable resource and guide to the Nigerian elections in April 2011, I have consistently updated this blog and add other bits of information as the election season wound down bringing together the election reviews and results from various sources.

All outstanding elections have now been concluded and those with grievances are now at liberty to file their claims with the election tribunals to seek redress or resolution.

The INEC Nigeria homepage offers a summary of the validated results of the elections.

Punch on the Web: Election Portal | Results of 2011 Presidential and other elections

Home : Nigeria Election Coalition presents an another analysis of the results announced.

The provisions for electoral petitions

The Electoral Act 2010 provides for the resolution of electoral petitions, these can be found in PART VIII – DETERMINATION OF ELECTION PETITIONS ARISING FROM ELECTIONS this starts from Section 133 or Page 45 according to the pagination of the PDF file.

Electoral Act 2010 as gazetted [PDF File].

Petitions should be filed within 21 days of the declaration of the results, the tribunal should deliver its judgement within 180 days of the filing of that petition and appeals for the tribunal process must be exhausted with 90 days of the judgement.

Election petitions take precedence over all other case files before the tribunal or court according to Section 142 of this Act.

No hard time-limits are placed on the complete resolution of petitions all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Election Reviews

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review I

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review II – New Election Dates

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review III – Who votes on Saturday.

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review IV – Part I to Voting

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review IV – Part II – We can

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review V

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review VI – Report to Prevent Rigging

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review VII – Change!

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review VIII – A President-Elect

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review IX – Analysing the Presidential Results

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review X – The North

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review XI – A functioning democracy?

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review XII – Altogether acceptable

Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review XIII – Ideas for Electoral Reform

The election timetables, postponements and rescheduling

This primer started as a collation of information bits posted by the @INECNigeria Twitter Account, it has been regularly updated to reflect changes during the April 2011 election season though the most of the original parts of this posting appear below.

New election dates announced on the 3rd of April, 2011, further postponements announced on the 7th of April, 2011 for certain Senatorial Districts and Federal Constituencies

National Assembly Elections – Saturday, 9th of April, 2011 (15 Senators and 48 Representatives will not be elected on this day.)

Visit Nigeria: #NigeriaDecides Election Review III – Who votes on Saturday for more information.

Presidential Elections – Saturday, 16th of April, 2011

Gubernatorial and State Legislature Elections – Tuesday, 26th of April, 2011 (The Senators and Representatives not scheduled for election on the 9th of April will be elected on this day.)

Rescheduled Gubernatorial and State Legislature Elections – Thursday, 28th of April, 2011 (For Kaduna State & Bauchi States because of security reasons borne of post-election violence after the Presidential Elections.)

Supplemental elections held in 4 local government areas and one ward in Imo State to resolved the inconclusive situation – Friday, 6th of May, 2011.

INEC engaging social media

The @inecnigeria Twitter account finally came alive with activity last week with useful information about the elections to be conducted in Nigeria in the month of April 2011.

Through the series of tweets posted and my comments this blog will attempt to give a general idea of what to expect during those elections.

@inecnigeria At INEC, we are working round the clock to ensure a smooth delivery of a free and fair election to the people of Nigeria.

@inecnigeria INEC is doing its best as an Election Management Body (EMB) to restore confidence and provide a level playing field in Nigeria.

We as Nigerians expect no less from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) it is our hope that the elections are conducted and results announced that reflect the express wishes and majority voice of Nigeria.

@inecnigeria The total number of registered voters stands at 73,528,040 while total number of duplicates stands at 870,612. #VotersRegFacts.

The Timetable [Source]

The National Assembly Elections will hold on Saturday, the 9^th of April, 2011. This pertains to the Nigerian Senate and the House of Representatives that meet in the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja unfortunately, the listed URL on the INEC Nigeria website does not link to the lists. [The URLs are now working.]

@inecnigeria List of candidates for Nigerian Senate elections http://j.mp/gpUxQm

@inecNigeria List of candidates contesting for the Nigerian House of Representatives http://j.mp/dO1xYf

The Presidential elections will hold on Saturday, the 16^th of April, 2011. The list of presidential office aspirants can be found here.

@Inecnigeria The list of candidates contesting for presidency with their running mates http://j.mp/glXuws

The gubernatorial and state house of assembly elections will hold on Tuesday, the 26^th of April, 2011.

@inecnigeria List of candidates contesting the Nigerian gubernatorial elections http://j.mp/effx3Q

At the writing of this blog the list for those running for State Houses of Assembly was not yet available but I will make that available as soon as I can.

Movement restrictions on voting day

In order to ensure that the voting in 2011 is seen as free and fair, it is probably going to be a full day exercise with full voter participation but a number of things need to be known.

Movement will be very restricted on election days which means voters must be close to locations where they registered to be able to vote. Students who registered at their schools would have to be in residence to vote at those locations and those who travelled to their villages from their locations of residence to register would have to make certain that they are back in their villages for voting before election days.

@inecnigeria It is important to reiterate that movement during elections will be restricted to only those on official election duty.

@inecnigeria Voters are therefore advised to start their day (on election days) close to their polling units to avoid being disenfranchised.

@inecnigeria #INEC. Governors and other officials not allowed to move around with armed detail on election day.

@inecnigeria Governors, other public office holders have been advised to come, vote and go back home. No reason for “monitoring”. #INEC

@inecnigeria Movement restrictions will be enforced by security agencies nationwide for public safety & to preserve integrity of election materials.

Monitoring is now part of our civic responsibility Nigeria: ReVoDa – Making Your Votes Count

Protocols for elections

There is an accreditation process and a voting process on the day of the elections. Voters are to arrive at 8:00AM at their respective polling units to be accredited and this continues until 12 noon prompt.

It is the most important part of the electioneering process because it validates the eligibility of the voter to vote and this I believe is verifying registration, identification and the matching fingerprints.

@inecnigeria Voters must be at their respective polling booth at 8am for accreditation. Accreditation is a prerequisite for voting.

@inecnigeria Accreditation begins at 8am and ends at 12 noon prompt. It is the most important process in voting during the elections.

The voting would be by Modified Open Ballot System [1] the guidelines for this process will be published on the 23^rd of March, 2011.

@inecnigeria Voting procedure will be ‘Open Ballot System’ (similar to what was used during 1993 elections)

@inecnigeria Proper guidelines for the elections will be released this Wednesday. #INEC.

Protecting your votes

Voters will be allowed to wait around after voting to ensure their votes are counted and tallied freely, fairly, transparently and without interference. They are allowed to take their mobile phones into polling units, record events and make use of the ReVoDa [2] monitoring process.

No one in political office or contesting elections is allowed to monitor elections, they are to vote and leave the environs of the polling units.

The list of accredited election monitors appears here [3].

@inecnigeria Voters are allowed to bring in mobile phones/devices into Polling Units. #INEC.

@inecnigeria Violence and disruptions at polling units could be grounds to nullify results in those polling units. #INEC

@inecnigeria Results will be nullified if the total votes cast exceed the total number of accredited voters.

@inecnigeria There is a profound commitment from overwhelming majority of Nigerians for free and fair and credible elections in April. #INEC

Most of the information about the conduct of elections, the candidates and guidelines can be found on this page [4].

Little frustrations

Trawling through the INEC Nigeria website is a nightmare, the placing of information is not consistent, the quality of data is badly processed with some information that should be in tables provided as downloadable files in some cases you have to rely on the pot-luck of the latest news column of 3 items to get the information required because the user experience is appallingly unprofessional.

I was frustrated when I started writing this blog hours ago that I stopped, but this not before I had posted some rather scathing remarks about the website. I can now report that amazing improvements have been made to get at the necessary detail in use on this blog.

After the elections on the 16^th of April the INEC Nigeria website was again revamped making results even more accessible, the organisation has consistently improved on the quality of their service and information dissemination.

Sources

[1] National Mirror – INEC adopts modified open ballot system.

[2] ReVoDa: making voting social and protecting your democracy

[3] Accredited Domestic Observer Groups/Organisations for the 2011 April General Elections

[4] Reports: INEC Nigeria

Nigeria: Know your inalienable voter’s rights

ELECTORAL PROBLEMS & ISSUES
Prior to the April 25th Ekiti elections, Sokari of Blacklooks focused on the rising political violence and electoral fraud issues across the nation in states where polling occurred. This was obviously a precursor and bad omen for the eventual Ekiti elections which were marred by violence, attacks on journalists and ordinary civilians.  Once the elections took place, Solomonsydelle of Nigerian Curiosity presented a brief history of the events that led to the confusion during the elections and analyzed the various issues related to not just for Nigeria’s upcoming 2011 elections, but democracy, national image and even the possibility of exporting dysfunctional Nigerian election practices to other African countries. Nzesylva discussed the resignation confusion surrounding Ayoka Adebayo, calling it “The Re-branding of Conscience”. Jeremy Weate of Naijablog, kept readers updated with numerous pictures from Ekiti such as this one illustrating that local women resorted to traditional naked protest, all be it semi-naked, to challenge many of the obvious shenanigans that took place during the election and afterward.

Additionally, Akin’s post “When women rage with the pudenda and the paps“, reviewed the Ekiti situation, women’s role in protest and other related issues.

RESULTING OPINIONS
The overwhelming attitude towards the Ekiti election reflected much sadness, disappointment and anger against many of the main actors. As to the violence that occurred, Chinedu Vincent Akuta, of Briefs From Akuta, pointed out that there were an estimated 10,000 police officers in Ekiti to prevent violence. He then wondered if those officers couldn’t prevent violence what would happen in 2011? Imnakoya, of Grandiose Parlor, focused on the role of the Police in the electoral confusion and called for the firing of Mike Okiro, the head of the Nigerian Police Force. ‘Omoluwabi Okebadan‘ put the blame on the federal government which he said continued to to whittle away any goodwill it had left.

Obie Precious, an Abuja resident blogging at Diary of a Naija Youth, discussed his dislike of everyone involved from the PDP, the AC, INEC (Nigeria’s electoral body), and the Police. Furious Frank Talk admitted to laughing when he learned that neighboring governor of Ogun state planned to send in hoodlums to Ekiti but quickly sobered up because he realized that he was witnessing the “demise of democracy in Nigeria”. Ifejem’s Blog focused on the unfair manipulation of the democratic process and political blogger, Adeola Aderounmu of Thy Glory O Nigeria! called the Ekiti election “Another Useless Election” that reflects the abuse of the word”democracy“.

TWEETS ABOUND
On the micro-blogging service, Twitter, interested users learned from Ekitirr that the anti-corruption body, EFCC, was interrogating INEC officers over an alleged N250 million bribe, less than 24 hours after the final poll closed. Ekitirr, a supporter of the AC challenger, had updated others using his phone through out the election. In response to the bribe discussion, Plastiqq noted that he was awaiting the “outcome” of the investigation and others questioned whether or not there would be any concrete results. And Elcij proclaimed “On a more serious note, this nonsense in ekiti is becoming quite dangerous.” This view was shared by many not just on Twitter but also, the many Nigerian bloggers that focused on the elections.

Overall, Nigerian observers of the Ekiti election expressed genuine concern for the future of democracy and elections in the country. Time will tell exactly how these elections will impact others.

SolomonSydelle
www.nigeriancuriosity.com