Former President Goodluck Jonathan has made some interesting revelations.
He said: “In Nigeria, you can’t get an accurate count of votes because I believe that we have too many ghost voters.”
“We must have credible people. From what ex-INEC Chairman, Attahiru Jega said, political leaders who are so domineering will pressurise you to do what is wrong; you should be able to resign and leave. You should be able to resign and walk away, please.”
“If we don’t have this kind of people, then we are in trouble. And I don’t want any INEC official to say I was pressurised. If you are accepting to be Chairman of INEC or to be a commissioner of INEC, then you should be ready to say, ‘If I’m pressurised to do what is wrong, I will take care of the democratic people and walk away’.”
“And if we don’t have such people managing our electoral management bodies, if what we have are people who will continue to go in a circle, we will not get what we want.”
“When both parties are strong, and the system cannot be manipulated, only real human beings will cast and their votes will count.”
“Sometimes, if I listen to the prediction by religious men and women and so on, their predictions tend to go towards the regional interest. So, when the electoral process is so regionalised, we are going to have issues. And that will be controlled by de-emphasising sort of key areas.”
“If our systems of electing our leaders are not fine-tuned to the level that the voter card will work, then what will be so great about democracy?”
“If our systems for electing leaders are not fine-tuned, then what is the point of democracy?” he questioned.
“Late last year, Ghana conducted general elections which were indeed successful, despite the application of limited technology. The country, with a reputation of being one of Africa’s most stable democracies, lived up to this billing by conducting peaceful polling and smooth transfer of power.”
“The Electoral Commission of Ghana and the security authorities played a crucial role in ensuring the elections were free, fair, and transparent, thereby demonstrating that Ghana’s democratic institutions and processes have continued to be resilient, even with limited technology.”
“Two other countries, Liberia and Senegal also conducted general elections with limited deployment of technology. In these countries, the processes were generally peaceful, transparent and credible with a high voter turnout.”
‘’In the case of Liberia, incumbent President George Weah conceded defeat to the opposition candidate Joseph Boakai after a closely contested runoff, setting a positive example for democratic transitions in the region.”
“The pre-election period in Senegal was notably marred by protests, arrests of opposition figures, and concerns about the independence of the judiciary. However, it was pleasing to observe that once the election process kicked in, the polling processes progressed without hitches, resulting in a free and fair outcome.”
“It is instructive that in countries where more technology was deployed, like Nigeria and Sierra Leone, the electoral process threw up more agitations, legal battles and political tensions.”
“This development, therefore, underscores the place of the human element in deepening the roots of democracy. It shows that the deployment of technology, no matter how elaborate or sophisticated, may not deliver the desired outcomes without the proven will of the authorities and the citizens to do the right thing.”
“Although some nations have regressed to military rule, West Africa has largely transitioned from the dark days of pervasive military rule to a region where elections are the primary means of transferring power.”
“Still, I believe we have made incremental progress. It is clear that West Africa has largely transitioned from the dark days of pervasive military rule and authoritarian regimes to a region where elections are now held routinely as the primary means of transferring political power.”
“The fact that the military regimes are now treated as an aberration within the Economic Community of West African States speaks eloquently to this progression and highlights the resilience and determination of our people to embrace democracy as a way of life.”
“This is, indeed, a clear departure from the not-so-distant past when many nations in the sub-region experienced long spells of political instability or military dictatorship with some of the leaders even playing an active role in the formation of ECOWAS in 1975.”