The 2024 Great Ife Students’ Union Electoral Commission saddled with the responsibility of conducting the electioneering activities into the Hall Executives Council (HEC), Students Representative Council (SRC) and Central Executive Council (CEC) of the Union was constituted on Thursday, 6th of June. The 13-men committee which had members that cut across all the 13 faculties in the University in a statement released on Tuesday, 10th of June lifted the ban on election activities on Students’ Union Elections activities.
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In an exclusive interview with the Chairman of the Commission, Ogúnperí Taofeek Olálékan, also known as TAO, he provided a detailed explanation of the tactics and measures the Commission will use to ensure a smooth, efficient, and transparent electoral process. Tao affirmed that there will be respect for the rights of students and upholding the integrity of the electoral cycle.
How do you intend to go about the Election Planning and Logistics?
Thank you for that question. Planning to ensure a smooth and efficient electoral process is tasking but it is not impossible. It has been done in the past, and as a matter of fact, the Commission has started planning already. The size of the Students’ Union is not a problem and neither is logistics.
As for the size, this first has to do with which election we are talking about, as we have more than one election to conduct. But in any case, this will be addressed through the activation of the polling units to allow voters to exercise their rights without any hindrance. From precedence, we know the polling units in correspondence with the demographic distribution of students which have allowed elections in Great Ife Students’ Union to hold smoothly; plans are in the works to use them again.
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For logistical issues, the Commission will cater for them through adequate budgeting and good use of material and human resources. With enough resources, no logistics issue can hinder the electoral process. Yes, there will be challenges but our preparation to address them is well geared up.
In equipping polling stations with all that is needed, including personnel, the Commission shall ensure timely and enough provision of resources at the voting centre. Given the magnitude of most of our elections, we will need to recruit volunteers into ad hoc committees to work with Commissioners in the discharge of their duties.
We shall not omit the inclusion of relevant stakeholders within the university to ensure that the process is not only smooth but also free, fair and credible. Such include the Division of Students Affairs, the Security Department of the University, and the Vice-Chancellor who is a sponsoring authority of the Students’ Union.
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How do you ensure that there’s Voter Education and Participation?
Voter education and participation are an inseparable duo. The latter is motivated by the former. The Commission will fashion necessary strategies to educate the students. Some of our plans include sensitization across Faculties, Halls of Residence and, as seen fit, holding voter engagement sessions.
For us to ensure voter participation, we must address voter education. Our efforts are important but I would like to use this medium to advise students to engage in self and peer education, as well as follow up with the activities of the Electoral Commission. These will particularly help in a long way, as the Electoral Commission alone cannot do all the work. Of course, we will get information and fliers around and explore traditional and new media to spread them but our efforts can be effective as they should be only with the support of Great Ife students.
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The Commission will also try to address issues of transportation. A vast majority of students live off campus. What happened last election with the transportation system on one of the election days was disturbing and reflective of the exercise. We are intent on enlisting the cooperation of the transport workers and authorities within the university to ease the process.
What do you want to do to uphold Electoral Integrity and Security?
Electoral integrity is enabled by several factors, these factors being varied and attributable to different stakeholders in the electoral cycle. As a Commission, we shall play our part excellently and prevent anything that could undermine the integrity of the process. As I said earlier, we shall be engaging all the relevant stakeholders; the Security Department will especially be important here.
We will also put in place punitive measures to be used where we have any erring candidate or supporter. All persons hoping to contest and their supporters are advised to desist from fomenting any trouble or engaging in any electoral malpractice. Any candidate risks immediate disqualification if engaged in vote buying, intimidation, or violence. Follow the election guidelines and campaign to Great Ife students with your manifesto.
How do you plan to address Past Challenges?
As an active participant in the past two electoral cycles of the Students’ Union, I have learned lessons and noted challenges in them. Some of the lessons are bitter, some are pleasant. I think the same things hold for many students, including the Electoral Commissioners. But what is important is how we use these experiences to make the process a better one.
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I cannot highlight all lessons here but some important ones have taught me the values of transparency, competence and openness. An administration is legitimate consequent to the worthiness of the election that produces it. I have learnt that the will of Great Ife students is supreme and best respected; that such allows them, post-election, to stay connected to student leaders and work with them.
Challenges from the last elections that I think are topical here are time constraints and preparedness for the electoral cycle. The 2020/2021 Electoral Commission had ample time to prepare for and conduct elections but the reverse was the case last session. But kudos must be given to the Electoral Commission; largely, they were able to manage the challenges and see the process through. The current Electoral Commission is faced with similar challenges but we are using the lessons of the previous years to improve the process. Relevant consultative efforts are ongoing while we fashion out modalities, timetables and guidelines for the elections.
We are poised to avoid any systemic issue (there should not be any form of bias, because that is a way of being partisan, and this umpire shall not be partisan). But where issues arise, we will address them as and when they do.
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How do you plan to make sure there is enough collaboration and Stakeholder Engagement?
As I have informed earlier, we shall educate voters. The education will also involve engaging with student leaders at different strata. The most important stakeholders in the forthcoming elections are the students. The leadership of student organisations shall be engaged promptly. Their participation in the elections is more than a given; many of their members would be contesting, so we expect them to cooperate with the Commission and address all important issues.
Concerns raised will be taken through dedicated platforms and contacts. In a few days, there will be communication from the Commission addressing all of these. The Commission will ensure to act on all reports instantly listen to grievances and address them within its operative constitutional and set electoral guidelines.
How will you leverage technology to improve the efficiency and transparency of the electoral process?
The question of efficiency and transparency has been partly answered earlier. But to address specifics of technology, I will say that the Commission will make its decisions as seen fit. Essentially, there is no way we can do without technology, as it enables us to bypass some difficult issues and guarantee trust in the process.
Technical and democratic steps to ensure fairness to all candidates and their teams will be taken during the elections at the polling units where the voters themselves, agents and other stakeholders can bear witness to them. Collation of results shall be immediate and announcements shall follow.
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We cannot understate the role of the Association of Campus Journalists, OAU, in this respect. With the presence of media organisations in all departments on campus, and members cutting across classes, ACJ OAU can help communicate results, happenings, etc to students, no matter how remote they are to the polling units. The past two elections have shown that the media as the Fourth Estate of the realm must be actively involved to ensure a free, fair, credible, and popular electoral cycle.
How will you conduct a thorough review of the electoral process after the election?
The review of the electoral process will involve an interactive session with all relevant stakeholders, agents, and students. At the end of the exercise, we shall ensure to have a comprehensive report which can be used as a point of reference in the subsequent elections beyond this session. We shall be working with the Electoral Petition to address any consequential issues before and at this phase.
Our review of the electoral process will include highlights of challenges and recommendations. Since I and some of my Commissioners will be graduating this session, one of the best things that we can do is to pass lessons and recommendations to those coming after us. I am confident that the intellectual and progressive student political economy of Great Ife will continue to wax strong even when my own set is gone and whatever good legacy we are leaving behind now can be made better.