Was the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election Stolen?

 

Protesters vowed to shut down the country over what they described as daylight robbery by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in connivance with the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC ) to subvert the will of Nigerians in the just concluded 25 February 2023 Presidential Election. Photo: Sahara Reporters.

Elections in Nigeria have been very controversial since independence, however the 2023 Presidential Election widely expected to be a game changer due to electoral reforms allowing the use of electronic voting turned out to be a huge disappointment with allegations of fraud by the leading opposition candidates who have refused to concede but have approached the election tribunal seeking to nullify the outcome of the presidential elections. 

Today , there is widespread belief that 'future elections will not be conducted fairly and that the candidates taking office will not reflect the free choices made by eligible voters'.   Stolen elections mock democracy and development and creates the conditions for conflict and instability especially in fragile democracies. There are a lot of reasons to worry about stolen elections.  The 25  February 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election is a wake up call to do something about it.

What Constitutes a "stolen election"?

How can we spot a stolen election?

What are the consequences of a stolen election?

What can be done about it .

According to Dan Mclaughlin;  "in terms of evidence, there are three signs to look for that might show that an election's outcome was the result of fraud by voters or election officials" 

These include:

 1) Direct evidence of illegally counted or discounted votes.

2)Evidence of an unlawful process.

3) Anomalous results that make sense only if the election was fraudulent.

Perhaps, this could be a good place to start as we strive to help communicate what works so that we can have a democracy that works for everyone. Everyone wins if we can help maintain a just and free society. In the words of Steven F. Freeman and Joel Bleifuss; "Elections needed to convey a sense of fairness and finality if the fledging democracy was to survive,...and when we have a reason to doubt, when officials operate secretly under colour of law or behind the veil of untested technologies, when the results of a national election cannot be trusted to reflect the ballots cast, no obligation could be greater than that of a citizen to question the electoral process itself" . 

There is a saying that , "the people know a rotten sardine when they smell one"

The events of 25 February 2023 Presidential elections gave us such reason to doubt. 

Uche Okeke.