Despite far-reaching reforms by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to strengthen electoral integrity, the persistent menace of vote buying continues to undermine Nigeria?s democratic progress.

Over the past decade, under the leadership of Mahmood Yakubu, the immediate past chairman, INEC introduced transformative measures to improve transparency and restore public confidence. Innovations such as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), and enhanced logistics coordination have helped to curb manipulation and ensure more credible polls.

However, as technology narrows the space for rigging, vote trading?the exchange of cash or material inducements for votes?has become a more sophisticated and widespread threat to electoral credibility.

Under Section 22 of the Electoral Act (2022), vote buying and related acts are explicitly prohibited. It states that ?any person who?(a) is in unlawful possession of any voter?s card whether issued in the name of any voter or not; or (b) sells or attempts to sell or offers to sell any voter?s card whether issued in the name of any voter or not; or(c) buys or offers to buy any voter?s card whether on his own behalf or on behalf of any other person, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not more than ?500,000 or imprisonment not more than two years or both.?

Despite this clear legal framework, enforcement remains weak. Arrests are rare, prosecutions slower still, and convictions almost non-existent, thereby emboldening vote buyers and sellers alike.

Now under the leadership of Joash Amupitan (SAN), INEC faces a dual challenge: consolidating technological and administrative reforms while tackling the socio-economic roots of electoral corruption.

Amupitan has pledged to sustain his predecessor?s reforms while deepening voter education, campaign finance enforcement, and inter-agency collaboration to curb electoral inducement.

The 2025 Anambra governorship election served as an early test of INEC?s renewed commitment. While the process was largely peaceful and transparent, observer reports indicated that vote buying persisted beneath the surface.

According to Yiaga Africa, in its joint mid-day situational statement, ?Vote trading was observed in several polling units, with party agents using subtle tactics to induce voters.?

The group warned that such practices ?continue to undermine citizens? confidence in the integrity of elections, regardless of technological improvements.?

Similarly, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) noted in its preliminary report that ?vote buying and selling were rampant across some local government areas, reflecting the enduring influence of money on Nigeria?s electoral behaviour.?

CDD cautioned that despite INEC?s improved results management and real-time uploads, voter inducement ?poses a major threat to electoral competitiveness and accountability.?

Meanwhile, Ezenwa Nwagwu, executive director, Peering Advocacy and Advancement Center in Africa, opined that voter inducement is a violation of the nation?s extant electoral laws.

?Our elections ? from candidate selection by the nature of primary elections the politicians conduct ? have been monetised and largely transactional. It negatively ebbs at the fairness, credibility and integrity of our elections and electoral process.?

Samson Itodo, executive director, Yiaga Africa, put the blame of vote buying on all stakeholders, noting that while the political parties are directly involved in the buying process, the police, the EFCC and the election umpires should hold defaulters to account.

Observers widely view the Anambra poll as a litmus test for the 2027 general elections, assessing whether INEC?s institutional reforms can withstand the corrosive impact of monetised politics.

?INEC can provide the best systems, but democracy fails when citizens trade their conscience for cash,? one observer in Awka remarked. ?Vote buying doesn?t just taint the ballot?it weakens the foundation of governance.

Analysts agree that while INEC has raised the bar for transparency, the moral and socio-economic roots of vote buying remain deeply entrenched. Poverty, political patronage, and dwindling trust in government continue to feed the cycle, eroding faith in the ballot?s power.

As Nigeria looks toward 2027, INEC?s success will depend not only on technology or logistics but on a collective national effort to enforce electoral laws, uplift citizens economically, and re-awaken civic responsibility. (BusinessDay)

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