Proposes burden of proof shift to INEC, counterfoil ballots to curb disputes
A former Delta State House of Assembly lawmaker, Hon. Gibson Akporehe has blamed Nigeria’s persistent electoral challenges on what he described as an integrity deficiency across all sectors of national life, arguing that technological innovations alone cannot fix a broken system.
The remarks were made at a public dialogue organized by BEL DIALOGUE with the theme _“Democracy That Works: Bridging the Gap Between Votes, Results and Institutional Accountability”.
Speaking during the panel session, the lawmaker said the failure to see expected improvements from reforms was due to lack of character and accountability.
“The integrity deficiency plaguing every sector of our national life is one of the reasons why technological innovations didn’t count,” Akporehe stated.
The lawmaker said that citizens, institutions, and political actors all share responsibility for the current state of elections.
“We are all complicit one way or the other in the mess,” he said.
According to him, this explains why deploying credible people, including professors, to monitor and conduct elections has “remained a far cry” from achieving the desired results.
As part of solutions, Hon. Akporehe called for urgent amendments to Nigeria’s electoral and legal framework.
He submitted that the Evidence Act should be tweaked to depart from Section 131, which currently places the burden of proving election irregularities on petitioners.
“Rather, an exception for election cases should place the burden of proof on officials of INEC to validate results declared by them,” he said.
Akporehe’s submission adds to growing concerns about the gap between electoral laws, technology, and actual outcomes in Nigeria’s democratic process.
He argued that this practice will “inject a high sense of responsibility and integrity on the conduct of INEC officials who can no longer run away with every contraption.”
Akporehe also proposed the introduction of counterfoils on every ballot paper.
“A voter on the ballot should record the party he voted for on the counterfoil which he should then hand to the party leaders of the party he casts his vote for. And the counterfoil must be authenticated by the presiding officer endorsing it,” he explained.
He said with such documents, “the process of vetting the final results declared will become much easier and without contestation.”
On his part, the former Resident Electoral Commissioner, INEC, who was also Chairman of the occasion, Hon. Mike Igini raised concerns over declining voter turnout.
He noted that turnout dropped in 2011, 2019, and further in 2023 showing the people’s state of mind on how elections are going.
Hon. Igini warned that Nigeria’s democracy currently “works more at the level of the elites, not at the level of the many people.”
“How do we ensure that the democracy, the gap between the vote and the result and what happens after, reflects the good of the people? That is the whole essence,” he asked.
He urged citizens to organize from the community level and take ownership of the process. “Every election is a test. We must educate ourselves and organize ourselves… as to what will happen to our lives.”
However, Hon. Akporehe further stressed that elected officials cannot be accountable without proper authorization and resources from the people.
“People cannot be accountable to you if you did not elect them. You must give the mandate. But today, very many so-called elected are not accountable to the people. These are the issues we need to address,” he said.
Hon. Akporehe and Hon. Igini concluded by calling for stronger defense of democratic institutions, particularly by the media and civil society.
The event drew key stakeholders from government, civil society, media and academia, which include: Delta State Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Hon. Charles Aniagwu, members of Advisory Board of Bel Dialogue, Advisory Board Chairman Pharm. (Dr) Paul Osogbe Enebeli, Vice-chairman, Elder Emmanuel Ogidi, Hon. Charles Emetulu, Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika, Dr Monday Ashibogwu, Hon (Dr) Patrick Ighomrore, Mr Shedrack Onisha, Mr Emmanuel Enebeli, Moderator, Mr Lawrence Okpewho, General Manager, Kruzz FM, Asaba
Other Discussants also present were: Prof. Andrew Agboro, Dr Latimore Oghenesivbe, Lady E-Umukoro, Amb. Augusta Keneboh, As well as other important personalities.
