Low Voters Turn-out: An Enabler for Electoral Fraud in Nigeria:: Report and Recommendations - Summary
Updated on : Saturday, 12 June, 2021
Released on: Friday, 11 June, 2021
Read (1024) |
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Tweet #NoGhostVoter
It is a common theme among many voters and 'ghost voters' in Nigeria that Nigerian elections are rigged. But how are elections rigged in Nigeria?
Between February 2019 to December 2020, The BOOT Party conducted a study on election fraud in Nigeria.
The outcome is as follows:
1. Findings
a) Most voters on the electoral register did not turn up to vote on the days of elections - 'no show' voters.
b) This class of 'no show' voters are converted to 'ghost voters' by electoral fraudsters.
c) Electoral fraudsters often comprise of compromised INEC officials, security agents, politicians, thugs, returning officers and compromised party agents.
d) Electoral fraudsters usually do not tamper with the thumb-printed ballot papers of voters who actually voted on the days of elections.
e) Electoral fraudsters rigged the outcome of elections by illegally thumb-printing the ballot papers for registered voters that did not show up at the polling unit (i.e. 'ghost voters') on the days of elections.
f) Electoral fraudsters capitalise on habitually low voters' turnout on the days of elections.
g) Average voters' turnout within the period of this study was not more than twenty-five (25%). This provided opportunity for the electoral fraudsters to manipulate the seventy-five (75%) of absentee voters (ghost voters) to rig the outcome of the elections.
2. Recommendations
a) DO NOT register to vote if you will not vote during elections.
b) If you registered to vote and did not turn up to vote, you will become a 'ghost voter' because the electoral fraudsters would use your voter's information to manipulate the final election outcome and you are unknowingly participating in electoral fraud.
c) Currently, none of the electoral processes is compulsory by law. There is no reason to be afraid that the Authorities would request for your voter's card.
d) INEC should take the following steps:
i.) Remove unconfirmed/unverified voters from the Electoral Register before and for every election.
ii.) Establish and publish policy and guidelines for electoral register update.
iii.) Ensure that every registered voter can be linked to a valid means of identification.
iv.) Reduce the number of voters per polling unit to a maximum of 500 voters per polling unit. INEC's plans to increase the number of polling units in Nigeria should be distributed appropriately and not partisan or seen to be partisan.
v.) Establish and make public the process of re-issuing lost and defaced Permanent Voters Card (PVC) as mandated under the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
vi.) Develop simple web-based IT tools that will inform voters of the locations where their PVCs can be picked up.
3. Review Process
a) BOOT Party's Public Election Participation Policy, requires that the BOOT Party should ONLY participate in Public Elections in the constituencies where we have established BOOT Party leadership structure so as to save INEC and Nigeria some funds from INEC monitoring unnecessary primaries and printing ballot papers that are not needed.
b) The BOOT Party believes that elections are mostly rigged through the collusion and connivance of compromised election officials; security personnel; political parties' and their members; candidates and 'ghost' voters.
c) For the benefit of this report, 'ghost' voters are defined as eligible and ineligible (INEC's list) voters that failed to turn up to vote on the day of elections.
d) Where organised election frauds have been committed, mostly by G1 parties (PDP and APC); they have fraudulently inflated their vote tally from the list of 'ghost' voters.
e) Ghost voters are created during Continuous Voter Registration where there is no valid means of identification for registered members.
f) There is no evidence that the biometric data collected by INEC during voter registration exercise is validated against every registration.
4. Our Approach
Following BOOT Party legal victory over INEC in a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja in January 2019, challenging the refusal of INEC to register the Party; and the postponement of the February 2019 Presidential General Election, the BOOT Party commenced a journey into exploring how election frauds are perpetrated and have been perpetuated in Nigeria. The goal was to identify how elections are rigged in Nigeria and how these can be addressed.
The BOOT Party commissioned its members and members of the public in gathering field data during LGA, State and Bye-elections from 2019 - 2020.
BOOT Party actively monitored the 2019 General Elections; some Bye-elections and LGA elections across the country. We gathered data; consulted and sought views from a range of people including politicians, INEC employees; other political parties' members (including deregistered parties) and professionals.
This study focused on understanding the issues and developing an evidence based from which changes could be identified. The list below comprises of some of the evidences which we think will bring about changes that will reduce the vulnerabilities in our electoral processes.
a) The field data were collated and analysed.
b) Results of our analysis were reviewed with experienced professionals and politicians who have participated in various elections.
c) Most of the outcome of our analysis were substantiated by all the professionals. One of the most striking statement from one of the professional is revelation that he has witnessed where politicians made use of palm cannel to thumbprint ballot papers for ghost voters.
d) This is the summary of this report. The long read is available upon request.
Happy Democracy Day! Thank you and God bless you and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Sonny Adenuga @SonnyAdenuga
BOOT Party National Chairman
BOOT Party! @TheBOOTParty
Because Of Our Tomorrow
The BOOT Party is a cooperative-like political leadership system.
Send Feedback
WhatsApp: +234-705-774-9595
Signing up is free.
Join BOOT Party and Get Involved!
Download BOOT Party App to
Vote in BOOT Party Election Primaries
Donate Because Nigeria Matters
Low Voters Turn-out: An Enabler for Electoral Fraud in Nigeria:: Report and Recommendations - Summary
Updated on : Saturday, 12 June, 2021
Released on: Friday, 11 June, 2021
Read (1024) |
Join BOOT Party
Tweet #NoGhostVoter
It is a common theme among many voters and 'ghost voters' in Nigeria that Nigerian elections are rigged. But how are elections rigged in Nigeria?
Between February 2019 to December 2020, The BOOT Party conducted a study on election fraud in Nigeria.
The outcome is as follows:
1. Findings
a) Most voters on the electoral register did not turn up to vote on the days of elections - 'no show' voters.
b) This class of 'no show' voters are converted to 'ghost voters' by electoral fraudsters.
c) Electoral fraudsters often comprise of compromised INEC officials, security agents, politicians, thugs, returning officers and compromised party agents.
d) Electoral fraudsters usually do not tamper with the thumb-printed ballot papers of voters who actually voted on the days of elections.
e) Electoral fraudsters rigged the outcome of elections by illegally thumb-printing the ballot papers for registered voters that did not show up at the polling unit (i.e. 'ghost voters') on the days of elections.
f) Electoral fraudsters capitalise on habitually low voters' turnout on the days of elections.
g) Average voters' turnout within the period of this study was not more than twenty-five (25%). This provided opportunity for the electoral fraudsters to manipulate the seventy-five (75%) of absentee voters (ghost voters) to rig the outcome of the elections.
2. Recommendations
a) DO NOT register to vote if you will not vote during elections.
b) If you registered to vote and did not turn up to vote, you will become a 'ghost voter' because the electoral fraudsters would use your voter's information to manipulate the final election outcome and you are unknowingly participating in electoral fraud.
c) Currently, none of the electoral processes is compulsory by law. There is no reason to be afraid that the Authorities would request for your voter's card.
d) INEC should take the following steps:
i.) Remove unconfirmed/unverified voters from the Electoral Register before and for every election.
ii.) Establish and publish policy and guidelines for electoral register update.
iii.) Ensure that every registered voter can be linked to a valid means of identification.
iv.) Reduce the number of voters per polling unit to a maximum of 500 voters per polling unit. INEC's plans to increase the number of polling units in Nigeria should be distributed appropriately and not partisan or seen to be partisan.
v.) Establish and make public the process of re-issuing lost and defaced Permanent Voters Card (PVC) as mandated under the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended).
vi.) Develop simple web-based IT tools that will inform voters of the locations where their PVCs can be picked up.
3. Review Process
a) BOOT Party's Public Election Participation Policy, requires that the BOOT Party should ONLY participate in Public Elections in the constituencies where we have established BOOT Party leadership structure so as to save INEC and Nigeria some funds from INEC monitoring unnecessary primaries and printing ballot papers that are not needed.
b) The BOOT Party believes that elections are mostly rigged through the collusion and connivance of compromised election officials; security personnel; political parties' and their members; candidates and 'ghost' voters.
c) For the benefit of this report, 'ghost' voters are defined as eligible and ineligible (INEC's list) voters that failed to turn up to vote on the day of elections.
d) Where organised election frauds have been committed, mostly by G1 parties (PDP and APC); they have fraudulently inflated their vote tally from the list of 'ghost' voters.
e) Ghost voters are created during Continuous Voter Registration where there is no valid means of identification for registered members.
f) There is no evidence that the biometric data collected by INEC during voter registration exercise is validated against every registration.
4. Our Approach
Following BOOT Party legal victory over INEC in a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Abuja in January 2019, challenging the refusal of INEC to register the Party; and the postponement of the February 2019 Presidential General Election, the BOOT Party commenced a journey into exploring how election frauds are perpetrated and have been perpetuated in Nigeria. The goal was to identify how elections are rigged in Nigeria and how these can be addressed.
The BOOT Party commissioned its members and members of the public in gathering field data during LGA, State and Bye-elections from 2019 - 2020.
BOOT Party actively monitored the 2019 General Elections; some Bye-elections and LGA elections across the country. We gathered data; consulted and sought views from a range of people including politicians, INEC employees; other political parties' members (including deregistered parties) and professionals.
This study focused on understanding the issues and developing an evidence based from which changes could be identified. The list below comprises of some of the evidences which we think will bring about changes that will reduce the vulnerabilities in our electoral processes.
a) The field data were collated and analysed.
b) Results of our analysis were reviewed with experienced professionals and politicians who have participated in various elections.
c) Most of the outcome of our analysis were substantiated by all the professionals. One of the most striking statement from one of the professional is revelation that he has witnessed where politicians made use of palm cannel to thumbprint ballot papers for ghost voters.
d) This is the summary of this report. The long read is available upon request.
Happy Democracy Day! Thank you and God bless you and God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Sonny Adenuga @SonnyAdenuga
BOOT Party National Chairman
BOOT Party! @TheBOOTParty
Because Of Our Tomorrow
The BOOT Party is a cooperative-like political leadership system.
Send Feedback
WhatsApp: +234-705-774-9595
Signing up is free.
Join BOOT Party and Get Involved!
Download BOOT Party App to
Vote in BOOT Party Election Primaries
Donate Because Nigeria Matters
