On March 18, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted gubernatorial and state assembly elections.
Just like the presidential and National Assembly polls, which witnessed low voter turnout, voter apathy reared its ugly head, or even became worse in the just concluded elections.
There were also reported cases of violence and vote-buying, which marked the exercise across the country.
In the last presidential and National Assembly elections, Nigerians did not experience vote-buying or inducement due to cash scarcity in the country.
The glaring and annoying vote-buying across the polling units has eroded the gains recorded by INEC in the last elections. Vote-buying has tarnished our democracy.
INEC should not be blamed for this mess. Our poverty-stricken electorate should take the blame for selling their votes to the highest bidder. This is sad!
The electorate have never paused for a minute to ask themselves a simple question of what will be their fate if they sold their votes for peanuts.
These desperate politicians are ready to invest their last kobo in order to win elections. After winning the poll, no one should expect them to work for the common man.
They have to first recoup their investment along with profit before dropping crumbs for the electorate.
However, while vote-buying is a serious electoral offence punishable by law, Nigerians are yet to see any offender prosecuted and punished.
Unless we prosecute those who engage in elections malpractice, including vote buying, Nigerian elections will go back to square one.
The Independent Electorate Commission (INEC), deserves a pat on the back. In the last eight years, the commission has improved its operation significantly. Through the deployment of technology, incidences of overvoting and ballot snatching have been addressed.
Unfortunately, the return of vote buying, as witnessed in the just concluded gubernatorial poll will become a cog in the wheel of free and fair election in the country.
It is high time government fashioned out a workable solution to the problem of vote buying in the country. The menace, if left unchecked, will affect the conduct of credible elections in the future.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua, Kaduna State
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