#nIGERIADECIDEs: TMG, CISLAC commend INEC, security agencies over neutrality in election conduct
*Urge continued transparency to end of process
*See improvement over past elections
By BASHIR ADEFAKA
As Nigeria’s general elections started today Saturday February 25, 2023 across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in the country, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and Civil Society and Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) have commended the process so far.
Speaking to The DEFENDER in a telephone interview at about 5:00pm on Saturday, Chairman of the TMG, Mr. Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani), who is also Executive Director of CISLAC, commended the neutrality of the runners of the process that is the Federal Government, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agencies.
According to him, the neutrality of the managers of the election have led to the commendable reports that his groups’ observers have been sending from across the country.
He said, “First and foremost, Nigerians were really eager and anxious to participate in this process. They come out en-masse and also the usual incidents of general disruption of elections did not happen. Although it happened in some places but the totality of it is that many places have it peacefully,” Rafsanjani, who spoke for both TMG and CISLAC, said.
The civil society group leader continued, “We have some places where also elections did not start on time and that created anxiety and tension, because some people don’t know if they are going to be allowed to cast their votes. Those are the few issues we have seen.
“But I think, in overall, what we have seen so far is good and well done. Where we are looking at now is the outcome when the results are to be announced, because that is also where some people go and cause trouble.”
He expressed the hope that the process would continue to be as very transparent and the people identify with the conduct as it was as at the time of granting the media interview with this online newspaper.
“We will continue to tell the politicians and the candidates that they must calm their supporters and make them to see the process as something that is not supposed of be a war situation and also that they must not do anything that will disturb the peace of the country,” he said.
Improvement over past elections
Asked if Saturday election was anything near improvement over the past process, Rafsanjani answered in the affirmative.
“When we do comparison to what happened in the previous elections, even though there is no perfection, we can say that this (2023) election is still better than what we used to have. In the past, when there was problem, you did not find any INEC official to respond. But now, if there is an issue, INEC quickly come to address the problem, whether it is violence or BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) not working, you will see that INEC quickly coming and addressing it. In the past, they were not interested but now, they are interested.
“Also in the past, of course, this vote-buying is not just to the ordinary people. It is also to the people who are running the process, the security people, INEC officials, all of them are part of this vote trading. When they collect money to disrupt or to undermine the process, it is equally vote-buying, which has so many dimension. If you deprive people from participating in election, it is also vote-buying,” he recalled what things used to be in the past.
But in the Saturday’s presidential and national assembly elections, the CISLAC boss said, “Generally, our observers across the country have been commenting and giving reports all over and the reports have been favourable because, we have not been hearing killings and disruptions so far.”
