He said despite momentary challenges encountered with the Smart Card Reader in the 2015 general election, its use along with chip-based Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) contributed in a major way to the positive acclaim of the elections.
Professor Jega spoke in Washington, United States, where he was given the 2015 Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Other awardees along with Professor Jega were the first female Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives and currently its Democrat Caucus Leader, Hon. Nancy Pelosi, and Chairman of the U. S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Republican Hon. Ed Royce. The ceremony on Tuesday, 29th September 2015, was the sixth of the annual award whereby IFES singles out a U. S. Democrat, a Republican and an International Awardee to be honoured for contributions to global growth of democracy.
The former INEC Chair noted that credit for the success of Nigeria’s elections was not his alone but also his colleagues in the Commission, the different stakeholder groups and international partners, and especially the generality of Nigerian citizens. He said: “I am humbled to be receiving the 2015 Democracy award, and will also like to recognise my colleagues at INEC for their dedication to a credible and transparent electoral process. Since I assumed the chairmanship of INEC in 2010, we worked hard to make the commission an Election Management Body (EMB) characterised by professionalism and integrity. From the beginning, our mission was not to just improve INEC, but to make it one of the most effective EMBs in the world.
“Over the last five years, we’ve come a long way in the conduct of elections in Nigeria, and I think the outcome of the 2015 elections speak directly to this work. All my colleagues at INEC share the credit for this success. The mood in my country presently is extremely upbeat, following the first democratic transfer of power in our history. The Commission, political parties, security services, civil society organisations and, most importantly, the Nigerian citizens should all be commended for their contribution to peaceful conduct of the elections, just as should our international partners.”
Professor Jega recalled the challenges encountered during the 2015 general election and how INEC responded. He said: “No election is ever perfect, and the Nigerian 2015 elections were not without controversy. After an engagement with various security agencies and stakeholders, INEC decided to postpone the elections by six weeks from its original date; and, of course, this generated a lot of controversy. But we had over 750,000 election workers and millions of citizens involved on Election Day, and ultimately chose not to put anyone at risk. The electronic PVCs and Card Readers that we introduced during the election cycle went a long way to improve the credibility of the electoral process in Nigeria. While there were some problems with the Card Readers, contingencies put in place by INEC ensured that voters were not disenfranchised. As INEC grows increasingly adept in its use of technology, such tools will only bolster the transparency of the electoral process in Nigeria.”
He urged the international community to stay alert on the Nigerian electoral process, saying:“Consolidating and deepening democracy in countries like Nigeria with a long history of authoritarian rule requires a collective and collaborative endeavour among domestic and international stakeholders. IFES has recognised this and partnered with INEC accordingly. In order to hasten democratic consolidation, I wish to call on all friends of Nigeria to continue to closely monitor the democratisation process in my country.”
Kayode Robert Idowu
Chief Press Secretary to the former INEC Chairman
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