TMG commends INEC, urges judiciary to protect mandate

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The Transition Monitoring Group on Sunday commended the Independent National Electoral Commission for what it described as the relatively seamless conduct of the August 15 election in Osun State, particularly the absence of major technical glitches in most locations and the real-time uploading of polling-unit results on the INEC Result Viewing Portal.

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TMG, therefore, called on the judiciary to protect genuine mandates freely given by the people and ensure that judicial processes were not used to truncate the legitimate choice of voters.

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In a statement signed by the Chairman of TMG and Executive Director of the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre, Auwal Rafsanjani, the group said the election provided an opportunity for Nigerians to recognise improvements in the electoral process while continuing to demand greater transparency, accountability and professionalism from INEC.

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The group urged the courts to ensure that electoral litigation strengthened, rather than undermined, the sanctity of the ballot and did not become an avenue for overturning the genuine will of the electorate through technicalities, procedural manipulation or politically motivated litigation.

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It also commended Osun voters for their resilience, peaceful participation and determination to exercise their democratic rights despite reported incidents of vote buying, intimidation, harassment and other attempts to suppress voters.

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TMG said the relatively smooth conduct of the election and timely electronic transmission of results demonstrated that INEC, under the leadership of Prof Joash Amupitan (SAN), could provide a more transparent and credible electoral process when its systems and procedures functioned as intended.

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The group stressed that INEC should not automatically be blamed for every electoral malpractice, particularly where such violations were perpetrated by political actors and their supporters.

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“INEC deserves commendation where it gets things right. The Osun experience demonstrates that the commission is capable of conducting a transparent electoral process, particularly through the effective deployment of technology and real-time results transmission.

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“At the same time, Nigerians must continue to demand improvements and hold the commission accountable where it falls short,” TMG said.

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The group noted that vote buying, voter intimidation, thuggery and other forms of electoral manipulation remained largely driven by politicians and their agents, stressing that political actors who engaged in such practices must be held accountable rather than shifting responsibility entirely to the electoral commission.

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TMG said the Osun election, like the recent governorship elections in Anambra, Ondo, Edo and Ekiti states, provided encouraging evidence that elections could be conducted peacefully and democracy could prevail where electoral processes were credible and the will of voters was respected.

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The group said the absence of significant post-election violence in those states should strengthen public confidence in democratic processes and encourage political actors to accept electoral outcomes and pursue legitimate grievances through established legal channels.

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TMG urged all candidates and political parties who participated in the Osun election to demonstrate political maturity by accepting the outcome and respecting the mandate expressed by voters, while urging those with legitimate grievances to seek redress through appropriate legal and electoral mechanisms.

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It also called on political parties to move away from electoral politics driven by violence, vote buying, religious and ethnic mobilisation and empty political slogans.

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Parties, it said, must increasingly compete based on character, competence, credible programmes, track records and the ability to address the real challenges confronting Nigerians.

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Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, TMG urged Nigerians to take greater responsibility for the quality of leadership they elect by obtaining and safeguarding their Permanent Voter Cards, ensuring that they were accredited promptly at polling units and turning out to vote without selling their votes.

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The group cautioned voters against choosing candidates simply based on religion, ethnicity, region, party loyalty or political slogans.

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According to TMG, Nigerians should interrogate the records, teams, programmes and policy priorities of those seeking public office, particularly their commitment to restoring peace and security, improving living conditions, fighting corruption, protecting human rights and strengthening democratic institutions.

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“Democracy is ultimately strengthened by informed and courageous voters. Nigerians must not sell their votes and must not allow religion, ethnicity, region or party loyalty to replace the responsibility of evaluating candidates on their character, competence, track record and credible plans for the country,” TMG said.

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TMG urged INEC to build on the gains recorded in Osun by further strengthening its election technology, logistics, voter accreditation, results transmission and public communication systems ahead of 2027.

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The group also called on security agencies and relevant law enforcement and anti-corruption institutions to intensify efforts against vote buying, intimidation, thuggery and other electoral offences.

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It reaffirmed its commitment to monitoring Nigeria’s electoral processes and promoting credible, peaceful, transparent and accountable elections.

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“The Osun experience should strengthen Nigerians’ confidence that credible elections are possible.

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“We must give credit where it is due, demand improvement where necessary and, most importantly, protect the power of the ballot by ensuring that every vote counts and every mandate freely given by the people is respected,” the statement read.

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