Massive Voter Turnout Will Overwhelm Election Riggers, Says Atedo Peterside

Atedo Peterside, founder of the ANAP Foundation, believes that a massive turnout of Nigerian voters, particularly the youth, is the most effective way to combat election rigging and vote buying. He asserted that politicians would not invest heavily in campaigns and illicit practices if votes did not hold significant weight.

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If votes don’t matter, nobody will campaign. Nobody will even bother to speak to you. In fact, the larger the number of voters that turn out, the more difficult it is to rig an election. Again, the larger the number of voters that turn out, the more money you have to spend if you’re trying to buy votes because you may just be overwhelmed.

Speaking on Channels Television, Peterside urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to permit all registered citizens to vote, even if they have not collected their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). He argued that Nigeria's demographic advantage lies with its young population, who, if mobilized, can decisively influence electoral results. "If the young people between 18 and 25 all decide to vote in one election for one candidate... most constituencies, their selection will win that election," he stated.

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If the young people between 18 and 25 all decide to vote in one election for one candidate, be it in the presidency, Senate or House of Representatives, most constituencies, their selection will win that election. You would have to do massive rigging to disqualify all their votes because they are the majority.

Peterside’s advocacy is channeled through ‘GoNigeria’, a non-partisan initiative by the ANAP Foundation aimed at encouraging first-time voters and other eligible Nigerians to register for the upcoming general elections. He commended INEC for extending the Continuous Voter Registration period, viewing it as a positive step to prevent the disenfranchisement of younger voters who might miss earlier deadlines.

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So let’s applaud them for doing something positive because some of us feared that INEC was in a hurry to impose a deadline, lock out all these people and possibly reduce the number of registered voters by making sure that many of the younger ones are disenfranchised.

However, Peterside stressed that extending registration is insufficient if registered voters are subsequently barred from voting due to uncollected PVCs. He implored INEC to implement a system that ensures all registered individuals can exercise their right to vote, thereby maximizing the impact of increased participation and safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.

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I think many of these deadlines are much too early. The 10th of July was too restrictive. It was never feasible. So adding two more weeks is something positive.