Who are the politicians buying Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) from voters ahead of the general elections starting few weeks from now? We earnestly wish they can be identified and their nefarious activity stopped before they ruin our country’s opportunity to have a free, fair and credible elections. Of note, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that made the report has assured Nigerians of measures to checkmate such criminality and its plans to ensure credible elections.
We hope INEC will live up to its boast, for, if politicians can buy votes ahead of elections, then the entire exercise will be a sham. According to INEC chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, “a new method of vote-buying is being devised. We have received credible information that some partisan actors are now going round buying up PVCs from voters or financially inducing them to collect the VINs on their PVCs.” We demand for further intelligence to determine those involved in that unwholesome conduct.
It is shameful that while all the major political parties are claiming to be interested in free and fair elections, INECs intelligence reports show otherwise. If the report is credible, there is no doubt that such an expansive gambit can only be financed by major players with deep pockets. So, instead of grandstanding, political parties should rein in their members if they want the general election to be worth the national resources the country is investing in it. They cannot play the ostrich and hope that a compromised process will somehow produce a credible outcome.
Since INEC already knows of the nefarious plans of the political ruffians involved, it must ensure that where necessary, it deploys technology to beat them at their own game. According to the INEC chairman, “by collecting the PVCs, their intention may be to deprive the voters of voting since no one can vote without the PVC. By collecting their phone numbers and bank details, the intention is to induce voters by electronic transfer of funds to their accounts since it will be difficult to buy votes at polling units.”
He also said: “by collecting the VINs, they may be acting on the mistaken notion that our system can be hacked into and the card readers somehow preloaded ahead of election and compromised.” These allegations are grave, but it is reassuring when INEC reiterated: “we want to assure Nigerians that we are aware of the new tricks. It is a futile effort; we will work with security agencies to deal with the violators of our electoral laws, including those who may be trying to compromise our staff responsible for making the PVCs available for collection by the legitimate voters.”
The upcoming general election must be free, fair and credible, as the survival of our democracy depends on it. The nation cannot afford any form of internal discord, especially with the challenges we are facing from the Boko Haram and its affiliate forces. Those who want to govern must gain the appropriate approval from the electorate, and the only way to do that is to win fairly at the polls. Buying votes, whether before or during the elections must be discouraged.
To ensure that the 2019 general election is put on a right footing, INEC should get the security agencies involved in fishing out the political miscreants who are trying to torpedo the process ahead of the elections. While working to outsmart the political actors trying to compromise the process, such infringements as noted by the INEC chairman must be treated as a crime, and those involved made to face the law. It is important that all critical stakeholders work together to deliver a credible election.
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