Nigeria Content Online

The recently
released election timetable by the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) shows that nationwide elections will kick off on
January 15 with that of the National Assembly, while the contest for
president is to hold on January 22. The election of State Assembly
members and governors is slated for January 29.

So far we think
the Commission has been able to win the confidence of the majority of
Nigerians most especially because many see the chairman Attahiru Jega,
a former university teacher and activist, as a credible person who can
conduct a process the nation can be proud of. The step to achieving
this started last week with the release of the election schedule.

Now the critical
stage is what we are entering into. It is one that is going to be
trying and will test the patience of many – political parties,
politicians, the electorate and even the international community which
is watching with keen interest. It is important that the dates have
taken into cognisance the need to have time after the elections and
between the swearing in date so as to give time to deal decisively with
matters that may arise from election disputes.

We think it is
wise and important to put a stop to the practise where a candidate is
declared elected and sworn in, but after spending more than a year in
office he/she is declared unelected and another candidate is sworn in,
thus creating a situation where a usurper is allowed to preside over
political affairs in the country. We hope in the time between when
elections are conducted from January 15 and 29 and when winners are
expected to be sworn in on May 29, 2011, a clear period of about four
months that all petitions would have been cleared in the courts for the
rightful winner to be sworn in. This would save the country the long
rigmarole of incumbents using government resources and time to defend
their election, thus denying the electorate the benefit of enjoying the
dividends of democracy.

The electoral
commission’s timetable also gave all registered political parties from
September 11 to October 30 to hold their primaries and choose their
candidates for the various offices. Of course the conducting of these
would involve the Commission, which has to certify them free and fair.
This is where it has to draw the line so as not to find itself immersed
in the murky partisan squabbles that political parties are wont to
engage in. INEC has to ensure that its officials who go a monitoring
will, like Caesar’s wife, be above board.

This process is
like a minefield which if not well managed by those with integrity will
mar the reputation of the Commission, and this would not be good. The
nation has invested too much time and faith in this election to allow
it to go the way of that of 2007.

However, the one
issue that gives us much concern is the period given for the
registration of voters. The timetable says this should hold between
November1-14. This means the Commission, by its own admission is hoping
to register 70 million voters across the country in 14 days! This will
surely constitute the eighth wonder of the world were it to be
accomplished and a feat that we fear may be the first great hitch in
this journey. We are at a loss as to how the Commission which at the
time of writing this has not got delivery of a single set of the
computers it hopes to use in the exercise, thinks it will be able to
meet this deadline.

This optimism is amazing in a country with an infrastructure that
leaves much to be desired. How the Commission hopes to compile a
comprehensive and credible voter list in 14 days is a question we would
welcome more enlightenment on so that we too can fully share in the
happy sentiment.