By Yusuf Olukokun
Peter Obi, 2023 Labour Party’s Presidential candidate, has maintained outrightly that Nigeria’s electoral process lacks transparency and absorbs controversy.
Following the conclusion of South Africa’s election, Peter Obi, via his X handle commented, stating how pure and undramatic the election was.
In one of his comments, he said South Africans allowed Diaspora votes; with over 90% of polling units working judiciously with time and zero technical imbalance.
He posited that, this in its original state displayed how committed the South Africans were to their democratic principles.
However, he strongly asserted, pointing to the irregularities in Nigeria’s electoral process as the giant of Africa.
The statement read in part, “Nigeria’s 2023, with less than 30% of the Voter turnout and over 60% of the polling stations starting late, no diaspora voting, the elections were plagued by allegations of fraud and widespread irregularities, all forms of glitches, despite an enormous expenditure to the tune of about a billion dollars (direct allocation of =N=313 Billion and donor agencies supports.
“The process has been widely discredited. The differences between the two countries’ electoral processes are both stark and lamentable. South Africa’s Election Results Center, with its state-of-the-art electronic board, showcased results with unparalleled precision and speed.”
Commenting further, Peter Obi was of the view that Nigeria electoral process needs a large chunk of reform to ensure credibility in our electoral system.
He encouraged Nigeria to emulate South Africa purposefully to build a democratic principle which will cement the faith of voters in the system.
“We must learn from South Africa’s example and strive to build a system that restores the people’s faith in our democracy”, he said.