Why it’s impossible to have accurate votes count in Nigeria –Goodluck Jonathan

Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, has joined the discussion about the non-credibility of Nigeria’s voting system, asserting that the existence ghost voters account for the inaccurate vote counts.

He made this point on Tuesday while speaking at the YIAGA Africa Reflection Conference on Democratic Elections in West Africa in Abuja. The former president laid emphasis on “the need for integrity within the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).” He also advised the INEC officials to put ethical conduct over political pressure. Buttressing his point Jonathan asserted that that resignation is a better option than allowing yourselves to be used to compromise the electoral process.

“In Nigeria, you can’t get an accurate count of votes because I believe that we have too many ghost voters,” Jonathan declared. If you are pressured to do what is wrong, you should be able to resign and walk away. If we don’t have such people managing our electoral bodies, we are in trouble,” he added.

Jonathan’s advice and statement was made amid ongoing disturbing discussions over the technical issues, glitches, logistical challenges and violence that occurred and destroyed the credibility of Nigeria’s

2023 general elections. The former president also noted that even with the provision of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and the Results Viewing Portal (IReV) by INEC, the election and the rest of the electoral process fell short of the desired expectation, begging the question, “if the money pumped into the process was worth it.”

Further, Jonathan also pointed out that the regionalization of Nigeria’s electoral process has become a major hindrance to electing “capable leaders.” He said: “When the electoral process is so regionalized, we are going to have issues,” If our systems for electing leaders are not fine-tuned to the level that the voter’s card will work, then what is the point of democracy?”

Calling for a robust electoral system that ensures transparency and accountability, Jonathan pointed out the challenges other West African nations face. He cited the recent elections in Sierra Leone and Senegal, noting that voters’ intimidation, ethnic tensions, and controversial results reduced the credibility of the polls.

In juxtaposition to Nigeria’s questionable electoral system, he commended Ghana for a credible general elections, noting that it was a “peaceful and smooth power transfer despite limited technological applications.”