The governorship elections scheduled to hold in Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa States on Saturday, November 11, 2023 once again presents to INEC -- the Independent National Electoral Commission -- a rare opportunity to restore confidence in the electoral process following a less than convincing past filled with controversies arising from a generally perceived poor conduct of elections in the country.
As voters file out once again to exercise their franchise in these three states barely 10 months after the General Elections, the country's electoral umpire cannot but ensure that they acquit themselves in a manner suggestive of a genuine desire to right the wrongs of the past by delivering outcomes that satifies the yearnings and aspirations of the people.
An election that passes the credibility and transparency tests in it's entirety not only rekindles hope about the future but reduces the chances of long-drawn-out court battles that have seem to stain the process in recent years.
Lack of trust in the system has proved a major setback for attempts aimed at mobilising the electorate to be more involved in the process as the true custodians of power in our kind of participatory democracy.
But questionable outcomes which fuels the belief that votes do not count has served more to frustrate voter enthusiasm in the process.
In it's place is an apathy that threatens it's sustainability as the only known means for electing candidates into leadership positions in the country. It is one thing to sensitise, and if possible, use the tools of information dissemination to mobilise voters to register to vote, as well as come out to vote on election days, but it is another thing to actually make them come out in their numbers to cast their votes!
This seems to be the dismal depths the perception levels of our voting system have sunk, especially in the wake of widespread discontent with the conduct of the last elections.
Now, the danger is that voters are so disinterested in the process that they are preferring to leave their voters cards with INEC, a situation a few observers have termed "silent protests."
If voters' apathy meant not being able to convince voters with valid PVCs to come out to vote on election days, a new name needs to be given to the ones who duly registered to get the cards, but who refuse to collect them from the issuing authority even with elections just a few weeks away!
The fear that there will be low voters' turnout in these off-cycle elections next Saturday is real. According to INEC's National Commissioner of Information and Voter Education, Sam Olumekun, there is ample evidence to suggest that voters will not be so enthusiastic, coming out in their numbers to vote in these states on November 11.
Aside the fact that there are thousands of PVC's left uncollected, he says elections will not hold in about 40,000 polling units because people did not even register to vote.
Then, in Imo State alone, there are over 101,003 PVC's just gathering dust where they are kept, with no one coming forward to pick them up.
The same applies to Bayelsa State where there are 39,249 uncollected PVC's.
"The breakdown of the three states indicates that out of 1,056,862 registered voters in Bayelsa, 1,017,613 have collected their PVCs and 39,249 are uncollected.
"In Imo State, the number of registered voters is 2,419,922 out of which 2,319,919 have collected their PVCs and 101,003 are uncollected.
"In Kogi State, out of 1,932,654 registered voters, 1,833,160 have collected their PVCs, leaving 99,494 uncollected," Olumekun had said.
The implications of this is so clear. Less votes will be needed to return an elected candidate in these off-season elections.
For a country that seeks to encourage maximum participation in the voting process, this is a major setback.
But keen watchers believe that INEC can win back the love of the electorate if they can be more transparent and credible in the conduct of elections, beginning with the ones billed for Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa.
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