INEC: Politicians See Elections as War

•Sets up crisis communication team

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, said Nigerian politicians saw elections in the country as war. INEC, then, set up an election crisis communication team to manage crises arising from elections.

The commission, in collaboration with the Campaign for Development and Democracy (CDD), set up the Election Crisis Communication Team (ECCT).

Speaking in Abuja, when the commission inaugurated the team, INEC national commissioner in charge of information and chairman, voter education, Festus Okoye, said, “As a result of the way elections are pursued by politicians, elections are almost akin to war. It is almost like a perennial crisis.

“The commission must be better prepared in communicating its positions. Our communication must be robust and focused on the long-term needs of the commission. It must be diverse, proactive, coordinated and consistent, with effective feedback mechanisms.

“Our communication strategies must recognise and amplify the demographic changes in the voting population; the increasing use of technology by a sizable number of Nigerians, the increasing engagement by Nigerians with the electoral process and the affirmation of the Nigerian people in their belief that the commission has the capacity and courage to conduct transparent and inclusive elections.”

Okoye said INEC hoped that the team would provide consistent, timely and targeted messaging to various stakeholders.

According to Okoye, “Other areas of interest that we hope the ECCT will assist the commission include the development of voter education materials, production of a press kit, and responding to fake news and disinformation.

“In addition, we are ready to work with you to educate critical stakeholders and the general public on critical aspects of the forthcoming general election, including innovations the commission has introduced to improve election service delivery, particularly, leveraging digital technologies, collection of PVCs, accreditation and voting procedure and election day logistics.

“With the profound expertise and experience in this team, both from the media and election management angles, I have no doubt that these will be achieved.”

He commended CDD for initiating the team, adding that this is not just innovative and timely, but also a perfect complement to the commission.

The INEC national commissioner said CDD was not just a leading Civil Society Organisation (CSO) that advocated an improved democracy in Nigeria, but also a think tank that approached issues of national concern from an informed perspective based on thorough research.

He said the commission had enjoyed good media reports, but stressed that it had also been doing a lot that was being under-reported, shrouded in sensationalism or even misinterpreted by the general public.

He stated, “The task of conducting elections all over the world is a daunting one. Election preparations, deployment and implementation are the most extensive mobilisation that could happen in a country, even in peacetime.

“In Nigeria, voters would elect candidates for 1,491 constituencies, comprising one presidential constituency, 28 governorship elections, 109 senatorial districts, 360 federal constituencies, and 993 state assembly seats for the 2023 general election.

“In preparations, INEC would be involved in recruiting and training staff and managing the logistics for their deployment to 176,846 polling units, spread across 8,809 electoral wards, 774 local government areas, 37 States of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).”

This, Okoye said, was in addition to applying strategic approaches to ensuring the printing and collection of PVCs by registered voters and replacing lost cards before the 2023 elections.

“These tasks are better appreciated, when one reasons that the projected voter population for the 2023 general election is about 95 million, which is over 20 million more than the combined voter population of the other 14 countries in West Africa,” he said.