The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has highlighted some of the issues affecting the efficiency of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the ongoing 2023 presidential and national assembly elections across the country.
The CDD, a non-profit organisation advocating for good governance and democratic practices, said that from its extensive observations across Nigerian states, the problem facing INEC is not only institutional but also infrastructural.
In a brief press conference held at the Transcorp Hilton on Sunday, the think-tank’s election analysis centre first commended the commission’s technological advancement before berating its shortcomings, especially in the areas of infrastructural deficits and logistic hindrances.
The chairman of the election analysis centre, Jinadu Adele, said despite the recent upscaling of the INEC’s technological tendencies, other institutional malfeasances are cowing the performance of the commission in the conduct of the ongoing elections.
Mr Adele cited the poor functionality of the BVAS and the late arrival of INEC officials and other election materials as symptoms of Nigeria’s infrastructural decadence and underdevelopment tendencies. He noted that poverty, topographical challenges, insecurity, vote-buying and other electoral malpractices are hindrances to an itch-free election conduct.
“Infrastructure, logistics, and the difficult terrain caused challenges to INEC in its delivery, impacting the early start of the election and the behaviour of people employed by INEC,” Mr Adele said, adding that “by and large, INEC has done well in this electoral process but there are still some problems, related to the infrastructural issues of the country.”
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