Jonathan’s Good Luck Holds, Leads Observers To Monitor South Africa’s Elections With No Reruns
The Oasis Reporters
May 1, 2019
One of Africa’s and Commonwealth’s most sought after Election monitoring leaders with credibility, Nigeria’s former president, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is already in South Africa at the head of election observers to monitor the South African national and provincial elections, barely a year after he led observers to monitor elections in Sierra-Leone.
Democracy has indeed turned the corner in Africa with many nations holding periodic and peaceful elections which put in the hands of the people the power to choose their leaders. -GEJ
— Goodluck E. Jonathan (@GEJonathan) May 1, 2019
I arrived Johannesburg early this morning to lead the Election Observation Mission of the @EISAfrica to South Africa's national and provincial elections. pic.twitter.com/7OMlqQZ9H0
— Goodluck E. Jonathan (@GEJonathan) May 1, 2019
A post on his Facebook page reads, “I arrived in Johannesburg early this morning to lead the Election Observation Mission of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa to South Africa’s national and provincial elections.
“Democracy has indeed turned the corner in Africa with many nations holding periodic and peaceful elections which put in the hands of the people the power to choose their leaders.”
The former President, who has been celebrated around the world for his decision to concede defeat to President Muhammadu Buhari after the 2015 Presidential election, has become an advocate for the promotion of democracy in Africa.
Many other Election observation icons in Africa and the Commonwealth currently envy Dr Jonathan over this new assignment to South Africa, a country where politicians are confidential of their system and are not necessarily nervous about leaving power. In South Africa, there will be no orchestrated reruns, no ballot snatching, no militarization of the electoral process and no rigging to put failures back into office and no last minute postponements for a week or two, thereby taxing monitors to spend more money on hotel accommodations and other unforeseen expenses including visits to hospitals where there are no drugs.
Goodluck Jonathan knows when he arrived South Africa and exactly when he will be leaving after the elections, unlike the uncertainties and threats of body bags made during the insanely rigged general elections in Nigeria, some of which the courts are gradually restoring.
Many observers who came to Nigeria, February are still counting the costs of their involvement in the Nigerian Electoral process and may have exhausted their financial war chests for any other African elections in the year.
Yet, the results of the March elections are still being contested in courts or at various tribunals, hence elder Statesman, Chief Ayo Adebanjo said that “the election was a farce. I don’t regard Buhari as president. Buhari was wrongly declared winner by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). When we get to court, we would know who the real president is.
“How can you call Buhari president with the way the presidential election was conducted in a 21st century Nigeria? Look at the elections, they were completely militarised. Corps members were openly kidnapped to rig the elections”.
Elder Adebanjo the Afenifere, (a Yoruba socio-cultural organization) chieftain also described the performance of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of INEC, as woeful.
He said the 2019 election conducted under his watch was the worst in Nigeria’s history.
“He has performed below expectation. This election is one of the worst in the country’s history. The misrepresentation of Atiku at the collation centres, the cancelled votes and other irregularities show that there was no free and fair election.
But far away from home, Goodluck Jonathan would be observing a most modern electoral process with card readers and electronic counting of votes that hardly lends itself to manipulation, unlike what the electoral commission is forced to impose on Nigerians.
