Current PVC exercise meaningless without electoral, judicial reforms – Atiku

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has charged Federal Government to embark on thorough reform of Nigeria’s judiciary and electoral process as part of measures to strengthen confidence in the Country’s democracy.

Atiku Abubakar stated this in reaction to the huge turnout of Nigerians to be part of ongoing continuous voters registration exercise.

He described it as commendable and indicative of the commitment of Nigerians to take their destinies in their hands in choosing their leaders in the next elections cycle.

He however, noted that it is not just enough to demand that eligible voters register for their PVCs, “it is pertinent that far-reaching electoral and judicial reforms are undertaken to ensure electoral integrity, strengthen public confidence, and promote judicial independence”.

Atiku, who noted that the quality of Nigeria’s elections had continued to depreciate over time, added that voter turnout was at an all-time low during the 2023 elections.

“Of the total 93.47 million registered voters, only 24.9 million persons voted in the last presidential and National Assembly elections. This represents a meagre 26.72% voter turnout, the lowest since the return to democracy in 1999.

Atiku listed out actions that must be taken to check this slide if citizens are to continue to have an appetite for the democratic processes and the prospects that it holds.

“The issues of BVAS, electronic transmission, and all other associated issues need to be addressed to the extent that they’re constitutionally provided for in order not to leave it to the whims and caprices of judges”, he added.

Referencing Chidi Odinkalu in his book, “The Selectorate”, noted that legitimacy is gradually “shifting from voters to the courts”

“When Judges Topple The People,” Judges, “once constrained arbiters of electoral disputes, have become increasingly unconstrained in determining who holds power.

“In some cases, this influence has extended beyond the courtroom, creating a system where a small, connected elite decides leadership under the cover of legal process.”

“The envisaged electoral and judicial reforms will return the power to the people to choose their leaders and not a conclave of interested parties.

“The PDP Presidential candidate in the 2023 election, called for an “amendment in the 2022 Electoral Act, providing for: First, mandatory use of BVAS for accreditation of voters and upload of election results from all the polling units and collation centres across Nigeria without any provision for discretion to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for manual accreditation of voters.

“Second, mandatory electronic transmission of election results from the polling units to the iREV without any provision for discretion to the Independent National Electoral Commission for manual transmission of election results.

“Third, collation of results at the Ward Collation Centers on the basis of the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the polling units without any provision for manual collation of results at the Ward Centres.

“Other areas include collation of results at the Local Government or Area Council Collation Centers on the basis of the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the Ward Collation Centers without any provision for manual collation of results at the Local Government or Area Council Centers.

“Collation of results at the State Collation Centers on the basis of the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the Local Government Collation Centers without any provision for manual collation of results at the State Center, as well as collation of results at the National Collation Center on the basis of the results already electronically transmitted to the iREV from the State Collation Centers without any provision for manual collation of results at the National Council Centre.”

He also sought amendments to ensure that “at no point shall manual accreditation of voters, transmission of results, and collation of results be allowed.

“The position of the Chairman of INEC, Resident Electoral Commissioners, and the National Electoral Commissioners shall be subjected to a democratic voting by the people and the need to guarantee that ” INEC ensure substantial compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and the Constitution in the conduct of the election in an election petition and not the petitioner.”