{"id":544,"date":"2022-08-10T15:23:58","date_gmt":"2022-08-10T15:23:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bbforpeace.org\/blog\/?p=544"},"modified":"2022-08-10T15:24:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-10T15:24:00","slug":"osun-state-2022-governorship-election-the-positives-potentials-and-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bbforpeace.org\/blog\/2022\/08\/10\/osun-state-2022-governorship-election-the-positives-potentials-and-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Osun State 2022 Governorship Election: The Positives, Potentials, and Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The\nOsun State governorship election which was held on 16 July 2022 might have come\nand gone, but its impact and lessons will be useful for future elections,\nespecially as the 2023 general elections draw closer. The governorship election\nwas held amidst fear of possible violence and widespread manipulation which characterized\nthe rerun election of 2018 in the state. However, the election was adjudged\nrelatively peaceful, despite seeing reported skirmishes before and after the\nelection.[1]<\/a> Also,\nthe deployment of BVAS machines and instant announcement of results at the\npolling units, and transmission of same to the INEC server made manipulation of\nresults difficult. Obviously, this left limited room for desperate politicians\nto unduly and unethically influence the results of the election as it was their\npractice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nof such rooms left for desperate politicians is the perpetration of violence\nwhere they are losing so that the result of such polling units will be canceled,\nand thus reduce the chances of the opponents. However, you can only know if you\nare losing after the announcement of results, which was immediately transmitted\nin real-time to the INEC server. The deployment of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines, while it does not\ntotally eliminate chances of double registration, significantly reduced those\nchances, as biometric screening and verification are supported by facial\nrecognition. It is more to the credit of Nigerians for this significant\nimprovement in the electoral process. The continuous campaign and pressure on\ngovernment and politicians by citizens led to reform in the electoral process.\nHowever, it is not yet Uhuru as the electoral system still needs important\nreforms to advance the democratic culture in Nigeria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weaponisation of Poverty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One\nof those issues to be addressed by electoral reform is the disturbing issue of\nvote buying. This was very\nevident in the Osun governorship elections, as there were reported cases of\nwidespread vote buying and selling[2]<\/a>.\nThis is clearly a dangerous trend. It will be recalled that similar scenarios\nwere witnessed during the 2018 governorship election in Osun State[3]<\/a>\nand recently in the 2022 Ekiti governorship election[4]<\/a>.\nThis act is aimed at financially inducing voters to vote for a particular\nparty. Politicians and political parties, having lost some ground for\nmanipulation as a result of\nnew electoral provisions, have perfected the act of weaponizing poverty\nfor their pecuniary political\ninterest. Voters, who have been economically impoverished for years are made to sell their votes to\npoliticians for as low as one thousand naira (less than $3). While this does not\nresolve their economic challenge, the idea of getting \u2018free\u2019 money to resolve\nimmediate economic problem is becoming enticing to many voters. Moreover, given\nthe serial failure of politicians, many voters believe collecting their \u2018share\u2019\nfrom politicians before election is the only way to have any dividend of\ndemocracy. While this trend of vote buying has been in existence for some\nyears, it is now being seen as a \u2018saving grace\u2019 for desperate politicians, as a\nresult of more stringent provisions in the electoral law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, it will take serious\npolitical education, which must target the voters at the grassroots and urban\ncommunities, to reverse this trend, which is vast becoming a tradition in every\nelection. Voters need to be enlightened on the poverty-recycling process of\nvote buying i.e. selling votes will only give politicians the authority to\nfurther worsen voters\u2019 economic conditions. However, beyond this political education\nis the need to improve the electoral laws, especially in regards to monitoring\nof parties\u2019 and candidates\u2019 electoral finances by the election management body,\nINEC. It will give the opportunity to see the red light in party electoral\nfinances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore, there is the need to\nenforce the aspect of electoral law that criminalizes vote buying and selling.\nThere should be adequate empowerment of security agencies, and especially\nmedia, civil society, and citizens need to be empowered to blow the whistle on\nvote buying and abuse of electoral financing. More than this is the need to\nreduce legalized monetization of elections. For instance, INEC needs to reduce\nthe campaign spending limit of political parties and politicians, as this\nallows money-bag politicians to have leeway for malpractices. There is also the\nneed to reduce the cost of nomination by political parties as this, alongside\nhuge campaign funds, leads politicians to desperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Increase in Registered Number of Voters <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at it from a positive\nperspective, the election in Osun State also shows the growing consciousness of\ncitizens as regard elections. This is reflected in the significant increase in\nregistered voters, vote cast, and voters\u2019 turnout. For instance, the number of\nregistered voters increased from 1,678,985 in 2018 to 1,952,387 in 2022, an\nincrease of 273,402 (16.3 percent increase). Also, the number of collected\nvoters\u2019 cards increased from 1,213,036 in 2018 to 1,518,303 in 2022, an\nincrease of 305,267(25.2 percent increase). On the flip side, while the number\nof actual voters increased from 775,687 in 2018 to 827,218 in 2022, the percentage\nturnout in the 2022 election, at 42.37 percent, is the lowest since 2014\n(54.17percent in 2014 and 46.2 percent in 2022).[5]<\/a>\nThis shows that, while more people collected their voter\u2019s cards, the percentage\nof those who actually voted reduced. Although, Osun State turnout is higher\nthan the national average, it is actually following the national trend of\nshrinking voters\u2019 turnout or increasing voter apathy. Therefore, there is a need\nto embark on more serious voter education. The Independent National Electoral Commission\nmust establish closer collaboration with civil society organizations and the\nmedia toward deepening voter education as regards turning out for elections.\nMore than this is the need to also improve the voting process which will reduce\nwaiting time and number of voters being processed by INEC. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Active Youth Participation During the Election <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another important development in the\nOsun State governorship election is the role of the youth. According to data\nreleased by INEC, there are 777,124 registered young voters between the ages of\n18 and 35 in Osun State. This is almost 39.8 percent of the total number of\nregistered voters, 80 percent (about 620,00) of whom are students[6]<\/a>.\nThis shows the readiness of youth, especially the educated youth, to\nparticipate in the electoral process. Given also that the election was\nrelatively free of widespread violence usually associated with Nigerian\nelections, it confirms the position that youth can actually be peaceful agents\nof change, as against the pervasive and mainstream belief that youth are\nbasically perpetrators of violence. However, only four candidates, out of\nfifteen (26.7 percent) are below the age of 40 years. While this is not bad, it\nis still not representative of the youth population in the state. Also, there\nare no female governorship candidates despite the fact that 47.24 percent of\nthe voting population are women. However, nine (9) out of the fifteen (15)\ndeputy governorship candidates were female. This trend, while still below\nexpectations, shows the potential for youth and women\u2019s direct involvement in\nelections in the coming period. But this will require serious engagements at\nvarious levels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Osun State governorship election\nhas shown the positives and potential if all stakeholders commit themselves to implementing\nthe electoral reform and effect serious changes in the electoral system. Yet,\nwe need to understand that the Osun governorship election is an off-season\nelection. While it shows the progress already made and the potential these have\nfor the Nigeria\u2019s electoral system, especially as we approach the 2023 general\nelections, we must note that the logistical arrangement and socio-economic and\npolitical milieu are different at the national level. Therefore, for every\nchallenge identified in the Osun governorship election, we must know that it\nwill be bigger at the national level; just as potentials identified will need\nbigger efforts in order to actualize them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, the electoral system cannot be divorced from the socio-economic and political system operating within the Nigerian society. Therefore, delivering the democratic dividends in terms of visible improvements in the living standards of the majority of the population, as well as social and economic advancement will greatly impact the electoral system. This is where civil society including pro-democracy movement, youth movement, labour movement, and the media need to play an important role in setting the agenda of governance that will ensure that public resources and wealth are used for the collective good of all, and not that of a few in corridors of power and big business.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Written by<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kola Ibrahim
Research Fellow,
Building Blocks for Peace Foundation<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

[1]<\/a> Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room. (2022). Second preliminary statement by the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room on the Osun State governorship election. 16 July, 2022. https:\/\/situationroomng.org\/second-preliminary-statement-by-the-nigeria-civil-society-situation-room-on-the-osun-state-governorship-election\/<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

[2]<\/a>\nOp. Cit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[3]<\/a>\nBusari, Kemi. (2018).\nOsunDecide2018: Vote buying reigns as thugs bar rival voters from polling unit.\nPremium Times (online). 27 September, 2018. www.premiumtimesng.com\/286753-osundecides2018-vote-buying-reigns-as-thugs-bar-rival-voters-from-polling-unit.html<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[4]<\/a>\nAdebayo,\nFolorunsho-Francis.(2022). Ekiti election characterised by vote-buying.\nDaylight robbery – IPAC. Punch newspaper (online). https:\/\/punchng.com\/ekiti-election-characterised-by-vote-buying-daylight-robbery-ipac\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[5]<\/a>\nAmata, Dennis. (2022).\nOsunDecides: only 42.16% of registered voters voted in the Osun governorship\nelection. Dataphyte. www.dataphyte.com\/latest-reports\/elections\/osundecides-only-42-16-of-registered-voters-voted-in-the-osun-governorship-election\/<\/a>\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[6]<\/a>\nhttps:\/\/situationroomng.org<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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