By Vivian Okejeme, Abuja
The Centre for Credible Leadership and Citizens Awareness, CCLCA has presented report and proffered solutions to perceived flaws in the 2023 general elections.
In the report signed by Dr Nwambu Gabriel Director General of the centre analysed all segments of the election with special emphasis on four states in Nigeria.
The report which was addressed to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC, Mahmoud Yakubu, was all encompassed.
According to Dr Nwambu, every minute details about the four states covered by CCLCA were exhaustively examined and solutions on the way forward well captured.
Consequent to the above, they proffered these solutions;
“Voter Education and Sensitization.
Conduct comprehensive voter education campaigns by INEC and civil society organizations to inform citizens about their rights, voting procedures, and the significance of participating in the electoral process.
“Promote civic education and democracy awareness through schools, media, and community engagement to enhance citizens’ political consciousness.
” Strengthening Security Measures. Increase deployment of adequate security personnel across polling units and strategic locations to deter violence and protect voters, election officials, and critical election materials.
“Collaborate with relevant security agencies to develop robust intelligence gathering mechanisms to identify potential threats early on.
“Enhanced INEC Staff Training and Welfare as well as the training of the ad-hoc staff who constitute a higher percentage in the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
“Provide specialized training to INEC officials on the effective conduct of elections, including conflict resolution, crowd control, and efficient administration of electoral processes.
“Ensure adequate compensation and welfare packages for INEC staff to motivate them and minimize their susceptibility to external influences.
“Transparent Vote Counting and Result Collation
– Standardize the vote counting and result collation procedures, ensuring transparency, impartiality, and credibility throughout the process.
“Utilize technology and digital platforms to enhance real-time transmission and public access to election results, fostering trust and accountability. Stiff sanctions should be recommended for any presiding officer who failed to transmit election result real time. This has formed the basis for major election disputes in the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria.
“Reliable Election Materials and Logistics. The movement of materials in some instances has become a challenge. The National Union of Road Transport Workers have become the major partner to INEC on logistics. In this election, we have seen when the union received to travel to designated areas perceived to be dominated by opposition or electorates not likely to vote for their candidate. The fact that the leadership of the transport union are partisan impair negativity on their function as logistics to INEC.
“Conduct comprehensive pre-election logistics planning and assessment to identify potential bottlenecks and make adequate provisions for all essential materials.
-Establish a robust monitoring system to track the supply chain and ensure prompt delivery of election materials to polling units.
“Collaboration with Key Stakeholders.
– INEC should foster collaboration with civil society organizations, political parties, security agencies, and relevant government institutions to create a conducive, inclusive, and non-prtisan electoral environment.
“Regular dialogue and synergy -building initiatives can address concerns, build trust, and ensure collective contributions to the electoral process.
“Timely Aggression and Resolution of Electoral Disputes.
-Establish dedicated electoral courts to address election petitions swiftly and fairly, ensuring justice and accountability for electoral disputes.
“Develop frameworks for expeditious resolution of election-related cases to prevent delayed justice and political unrest.”
