Giving EC absolute power may not be the solution
Play
THE CONSTITUTION Drafting Committee has agreed to give the Election Commission (EC) the power to issue both yellow and red cards against politicians suspected of having won due to dishonest dealings. Under the new plan, the EC will be able to punish fraud
Now, it would be interesting to see if giving the EC such absolute power does indeed prevent electoral fraud.
The commission had similar powers before, but it attracted a lot of criticism.
When it was established under the 1997 Constitution, the EC had the power to call for a new round of voting in case of electoral fraud.
In those days, many candidates still resorted to vote buying, possibly because they were unaware of the EC’s powers. In the 1980 Senate elections, the EC was able to void the victory of 78 candidates, and another 62 winners in the 1981 general election. A new round of voting was called in both cases.
Yet, despite calling for a new round of voting, the old winners kept resurfacing.
Then it was suggested that in addition to being able to nullify an election victory and calling for a new round of voting – which was later called “yellow carding” – the EC should also be able to “red card” candidates found to have committed electoral fraud more than once. Red-carded candidates were to be disqualified and prohibited from contesting again.
This idea materialised after the Election Act was amended. Initially, the EC’s decisions were mostly accepted, with few if any protests against the decision. This was because at that time, the EC was highly credible.
Later, however, questions were raised about some EC decisions, and it was proposed that any decision to call for a new round of voting or to disqualify a candidate should be made by a court.
This idea was incorporated in the 2007 Constitution, and the accompanying Election Act only allowed the EC to issue yellow and red cards until the official election was announced. After that, the EC had to turn to the court to give their decisions a stamp of approval.
Many former and incumbent election commissioners still want the EC to continue turning to an electoral court for election-related issues. This way, they say, the EC will not be pressured and it also ensures checks and balances.
Now there is an advantage to giving the EC sufficient power to issue both red and yellow cards. For one thing, dishonest candidates will be afraid of the watchdog and drop any intention they may have of cheating.
However, to ensure success, election commissioners must command respect and maintain credibility. In reality, though, it is very difficult to find people who have all these qualities.
Relying on people with high integrity and absolute power alone may not solve the problem of electoral fraud, hence it might be better to design a system that is efficient and acceptable to all.
