Political elite do not believe in free, fair elections – Ex-INEC commissioner

A former INEC National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye.

A former National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education at the Independent National Electoral Commission, Festus Okoye, has condemned vote-buying among the Nigerian political elite, saying such an act undermines the sovereignty of the electorate.

Okoye noted that rather than the political elite address critical matters that have significant impacts on the nation’s development, they find the means to ensure that people’s votes do not count.

He stated this on Tuesday during his appearance on Channels Television’s ‘The Morning Brief’ programme.

“I think that the political elite in this country really do not believe in free, fair and transparent elections. They just want to buy the votes of the people. They want to replace the people as the sovereign, and it is very unfortunate.

The former INEC commissioner added that for an election to be declared free and fair, it must be devoid of any forms of intimidation before, during and after the process.

He said, “The mark of a free, fair and transparent election is the ability of the people to go to the polling units to cast their votes without any form of intimidation, without any form of coercion, and without any form of duress.

“But in this country, what we are now having is a situation where political parties have no ideologies, political parties are not campaigning on any issue, all they know is that on election day they will find a way of making sure that the votes of the people really do not count.”

On October 6, INEC established a dedicated Artificial Intelligence Division within its Information and Communications Technology Department to strengthen its ability to detect anomalies and counter disinformation ahead of the 2027 general elections.

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INEC Chairman, Prof Joash Amupitan, stated that automated AI auditing tools had already been integrated into its results verification process.

However, Okoye further urged that the use of technology to improve electoral processes in Nigeria should be implemented at the right time.

“I think that what is important is for the country to keep on improving and also keep on deploying technology as at when due in our electoral process,” he said.

He also advised the media, civil society groups and organisations, and the citizenry to “focus attention on the activities of the political elite before, during and after election.”

The former INEC commissioner lauded the efforts of the ad hoc staff, members of the National Youth Service Corps and other Nigerians in the conduct of elections.

The PUNCH reports that Amupitan had inaugurated a multi-agency electoral logistics committee for the 2027 general elections, warning that no Nigerian should be disenfranchised because of delays in the arrival of election materials.

Amupitan also charged the National Orientation Agency to intensify grassroots mobilisation against voter apathy, vote buying and electoral violence ahead of the elections scheduled for January 16 and February 6, 2027.