CDD: Insecurity, money politics may mar 2023 polls

The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) says insecurity, money politics, and religious division may frustrate the outcome of the 2023 elections.

The organisation said this in a report titled ‘Nigeria’s Presidential Polls: A SWOT Analysis’, released on Tuesday.

According to Idayat Hassan, CDD director, there are worries about securing the 176,846 polling units during the general election, as it would require more than one million poll and security officials.

The CSO also said with campaigns beginning soon, insecurity could be a factor, adding that secessionist agitations in the south-east could reduce voter turnout.

“Religion is likely to feature prominently in debates following the APC’s decision to run a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Renewed youth engagement in politics, a feature of the voter registration period, could also be transformative and favour Obi,” the report reads.

“Money will continue to play a huge role in determining who emerges the winner if the presidential primaries and recent gubernatorial elections offer any lesson.

“Finally, online campaigns will be more fiercely fought than ever, with attacks aimed at boosting candidates, attacking opponents and undermining INEC likely to be accentuated in social media in the run-up to, during and even after voting.

“Insecurity remains a critical issue, particularly in the north-west and south-east. Further challenging this operation are the prevailing structural, infrastructural, and cultural ecosystems in which the polls will take place.

“Prompt release of the entire INEC budget could help mitigate some of these.

“Nigeria is currently facing an epidemic of insecurity. The violence led by bandits, terrorists and secessionists has been recorded across its six geo-political zones, further dividing the country along ethnic, religious and political lines. Holding credible polls in this context that guarantees the security of voters and INEC personnel will be a major challenge.

“The ability of INEC to conduct continuous voter registration has already been questioned as insecurity has prevented the commission from deploying to all wards across all electoral districts.”

The CDD, however, noted that cases of inconclusive elections would be reduced in 2023, as the new electoral act defines over-voting in terms of accredited voters as against registered voters.