Mike Igini 4.6 System and Process Design Application A strong signal was sent to contesting political parties and candidates that by words and transparent actions, the electoral system and all the processes would be applied as designed. In this regard, all matters relating to such issues as party primaries and nomination, ad-hoc staff recruitment and deployment, election material distribution, voting and counting procedures, collation and transmission of result of polls etc., were strictly adhered to in a transparent manner before, during and after the entire election process. This approach generated huge trust and confidence in stakeholders, particularly among candidates of the opposition parties, some of whom publicly expressed satisfaction with INEC in the state. Hitherto lingering doubts about the impartiality of the electoral umpire were cleared. A level playing ground was assured. 4.7 Lessons learned and identified gaps The challenge of security during election is not due to the absence of laws that prohibit conduct that constitute election offences. In fact, there are plethora of provisions in both the Constitution, such as section 227 and in the Electoral Act, sections 117-132 that address issues of violence or insecurity before, during and after elections. These laws and other rules and regulations contained in INEC manuals for elections are meant to secure peaceful elections in the country. However, the greatest challenge of security during elections has been paucity of enforcement. Simply put, enforcement by the various bodies by way of giving effect to or execution of the law 56 ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING Election Security in Theory and Practice: Perspective of a Resident Electoral Commissioner when there are violations to prevent future infractions has been the bane of election security in Nigeria. Despite the chequered and indeed the very notorious electoral history of this country, there are no records of trials and conviction of those who violated election laws and thus subverted the will of the people until 2011 when in Cross River, for instance, INEC secured a conviction of an electoral offender during the voters registration exercise. At the heart of the problem of enforcement is the influence of corruption that has permeated the entire administration of justice system; from failure to arrest, lack of diligent investigation, preferment of charges under appropriate laws, and unending adjournments, among others. Another important challenge for election security is the process of party nominations for elections, compounded by an amendment of section 31 of the Electoral Act 2010(as amended) which allows parties to conduct nominations in any manner and present candidates that INEC cannot question or reject''for any reason whatsoever''. The new provision does not encourage internal party democracy. This led to much of the security problems which diminished trust in the electoral process with many participating parties in breach of rules of internal party democracy, transparency and fairness in the nomination of candidates. There is almost no redress mechanism for those who feel short- changed. ELECTION SECURITY IN NIGERIA: MATTERS ARISING 57