How not to work for the opposition

 

I strongly maintain the position that rigging of Elections begin with voter

registration.

It was in the case of Hope Uzodinma that this belief did not apply. The belief is that the number of votes cast cannot be more than the number of accredited voters.

Following from that, the number of votes cannot exceed number of registered voters.

This is where the enthusiastic voters who are rushing to register should not inadvertently work for the opposition.

Politicians are usually eager to get the register bloated.

I have been present where party agents in collusion with electoral officials thumb printed continuously to the advantage of their candidate.

By design, this is not possible but by default it happens.

That parties record incredible number of votes in their strongholds, is down to this practice.

Rigging hardly occurs where the respective parties are of relatively equal strength.

You know this by the presence of party agents of the different parties.

By design the various party agents have to endorse the results at each polling unit.

With this, where the agents are on ground, rigging becomes difficult because the votes are cast and counted in the presence of the various party agents, who have to endorse the results.

The way to help the opposition is by registering and not voting.

You begin to wonder why a person will register and not vote? At least the power of politicians and how the misuse of these powers have made majority of us obedient, is very evident.

For this reason, we must be prepared to go the extra mile to cast our vote.

Inability or unwillingness to vote is borne of the challenges of voting.

Among the challenges are weather and violence. Weather can be weathered.

The real challenge is with violence. The party agents are masters in simulating violence. Any and every argument results in breaking of bottles or fisticuffs.

All one has to do to prevent these obstacles, is to be prepared.

To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Expect these antics.

I was once at a bus stop waiting for a bus in company with some colleagues when a fight broke out between two street urchins and my colleagues apprehensively gave them an unusually wide berth.

I told them that I would not run since I was used to such scenario from officiating at national elections.

While my colleagues kept a safe distance, I remained and when the fighters tried to crash on me, I pushed them away, as much as I could.

The fight ended in a stalemate because both fighters were malnourished.

Surprisingly, some days later I ran into one of the fighters and he greeted me respectfully.

It came from not showing fear for him and his opponent.

Usually, on election days such fights regularly break out and gentle voters take to their heels.

Please when violence breaks out, you may need to run but not to run home. If you do and fail to vote, your party agent can be compromised and your name on the register will give room for manipulation.

On election day keep your wits about you. Be prepared for any eventuality in order to effect a  change in the status quo.

It is worth the effort. No venture no gain.