Amid the suspense elicited by the anticipated appointment of a new chairman for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the outgoing chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, can do more to critically assess the commission’s performance under his watch. In particular, INEC should be concerned about what fate lies ahead of the umpire, given the high level of dissatisfaction of many Nigerians with the credibility of the elections it conducted. Free and fair elections remain the bedrock of democracy.

Unfortunately, Nigerians have mostly been deprived of this virtue, and INEC should take responsibility for the flaws, a lot of which occurred under Yakubu’s stewardship. Before he steps aside, therefore, Yakubu should facilitate a thorough interrogation of his tenure, with a view to guiding his successor away from the pitfalls and landmines embedded in the country’s current election processes.

The INEC chairman recently urged the leadership of electoral commissions across the West African region to remain steadfast in enhancing the growth of democracy in their home countries, lamenting, however, that four of the countries of the region have relapsed into military rule from a democratic system of governance.

Yakubu made the remarks at the meeting of the Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) held in Banjul, The Gambia, which he was attending for the last time as INEC chairman. The INEC Chairman advocated stronger regional collaboration among election management bodies in West Africa and applauded his colleagues under the aegis of ECONEC for their contributions towards strengthening democratic institutions.

It is indeed apposite that Yakubu drew attention to the shrinking democratic space in the West African region as manifested by the sacking of elected government in Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali and Niger. It is, however, pertinent to emphasise that the collapse of democracy in the affected countries, more often than not, stemmed from growing disaffection and frustration over flawed elections and poor governance.

Therefore, beyond the optimism that democracy will, in the long run, survive in spite of the inherent fragility amid defective elections, what should be of paramount importance is unflagging adherence to the rules guiding the electoral process in affirmation of the independence and credibility of the election management body. Making the credibility of elections sacrosanct will guide against potential threats capable of reversing the gains of democratic governance or outright breakdown of democracy.

The survival of democracy should not be glossed over in the face of flawed periodic elections. On this note, it would have been more comforting if the outgoing INEC chairman could be upbeat about the state of elections in Nigeria at the end of his 10-year tenure as the chief electoral umpire. Regrettably, it is uncertain if the overwhelming majority of the Nigerian electorate would express satisfaction with the state of elections under the watch of Yakubu, considering the growing rate of voter apathy and diminishing trust in the electoral process. There is no denying that Nigeria, which is unarguably the largest democracy on the African Continent, currently faces the enormous challenge of organising credible and popularly acceptable elections.

It is regrettable that Nigeria’s electoral process has been characterised by gradual erosion of the credibility attained in the aftermath of Justice Uwais Electoral Reform, which ignited hope and translated into marked improvements in the 2015 General Elections under the leadership of Professor Attahiru Jega when the electronic card reader was introduced. Unfortunately, there appears to be a resurgence of electoral manipulation, including tampering with collated results in spite of the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the Result Viewing (iREV) portal under the current leadership of INEC.

It should be worrisome that outcomes of elections have become the subject of contentions and frustrations typified by glaring breaches of regulations in spite of the adoption of technological innovations acquired at huge costs to the country. Against this backdrop, Yakubu’s successor faces enormous tasks of imbuing integrity in the electoral process. The new INEC chairman must be courageous enough to rein in INEC staff and resist interference from political actors if the growing loss of confidence and trust among the Nigerian electorate is to be curtailed.

Electoral umpires have the responsibility to uphold the independence of their offices by ensuring that votes count to reflect the wishes of the electorate as expressed at the polls. It should be reiterated that diminishing trust in the electoral process portends incentive for misgivings and acrimony, which undermine collective engagement and nationalistic support needed for robust democratic governance.

Perception of inadequacy of the electoral process to deliver popular mandate as expressed through the ballot cannot advance the cause of democracy beyond serving the ends of politics of survival among the elite who derive pleasure in switching political alliances. Therefore, the expectation of Nigerians is that a new INEC chairman would appreciate the urgency of restoring trust in the process to assuage the feelings of generality of the electorate who, at present, are becoming more and more disoriented and disenchanted about elections.

More importantly, the appointment of a new INEC Chairman ought not to be subjected to ethnic permutation or self-serving political consideration. INEC is a crucial institution whose independence and credibility will go a long way in determining the health of democracy.

What Nigerians expect is that the new INEC chairman should be an individual of proven competence with a track record of integrity and courage to uphold the independence and integrity of the election management body. The extant provisions on the appointment of INEC chairman and in particular Part F Paragraph 14(2)(a) of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution with regards to appointments of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) should be thoroughly reappraised in future constitution amendment in line with the recommendations of Justice Uwais Electoral Reform. There is a compelling need to enhance the independence of the electoral umpire through a diligent process of selection to ensure that only individuals with a demonstrated track record and commitment to patriotic service are appointed to oversee election management at national and sub-national levels. (The Guardian Editorial)