In politics, authority, power and legitimacy stand on a tripod to either make or mar the electoral process, depending on how they are applied.
The three concepts are seen as integral parts of the human society, too, for the simple reason that they are the defining features of a social being vis-a-vis political institutions.
Of the three concepts, legitimacy stands at a vantage position because of its accompanying features and attributes. Authority and power can be purchased with the barrel of the gun, money and appointment, but it is the people that confer legitimacy without coercion on anyone wielding power and authority. Legitimacy is the degree or level of acceptance that a government or a political office holder enjoys from the people. Mo Ibrahim, while underscoring the importance of legitimacy, once opined: “For citizens to become fully engaged in holding their leadership to account, accurate information is required to see where action is needed, to measure the results of policies and programmes, to build support for courageous decisions and to consolidate political legitimacy.”
The tragedy of our political dispensation today is that many elected political office holders do not have output legitimacy. They are occupying a purloined mandate and no matter how much they try to impress their constituents, they live with the baggage and conscience of having manipulated to get into office. This also brings about a large gulf, a disconnect between the political office holder and the governed, thereby throwing accountability, responsiveness and all other attributes of good governance to the wind.
In Anambra North Senatorial District, the Senator-elect, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, holds an input legitimacy that is untainted by any form of manipulation or electoral roguery. The electorate of the zone demonstrated that clearly on March 28, 2015 when they came out en masse to vote for her. It was an election that the people, irrespective of the cleavages of Oluna Adagbe, Olumbanasa, Ndi Onitsha and Ndiofemmili or religious divides of Anglicanism, Catholicism or Pentecostalism, all spoke with one voice by voting for Princess Oduah.
Since the election results were announced, various congratulatory and goodwill messages have been pouring in for her in torrents thereby affirming her popularity and legitimacy.
Last weekend, three civil society organizations in Anambra State in releasing their post-election reports for the 2015 elections gave a resounding credence to the election that produced the princess as senator-elect.
The groups- Society for Justice and Fair Play, Anambra North Equity Group and Mandate for Anambra North Rebirth – in their separate reports, described the National Assembly and presidential election results in Anambra North as the true reflection of the people’s voting pattern.
Speaking on behalf of the Society for Justice and Fair Play, Jude Okafor said based on the field reports gathered on the day of the election, coupled with sample reports of opinions within the different polling units, Princess Oduah carried the day in 70 percent of the votes in the seven local governments in the zone.
Giving a breakdown, Okafor said the analysis done showed that majority of the electorate from the zone had earlier made up their minds to cast their votes for Oduah based on their disenchantment with the performance of their representatives and the performance of the princess during the campaign.
“She was down to earth, humane, approachable, and she also came up with practical solutions to the problems of the zone. Our survey before the election showed that she was leading all other candidates with a wide margin in terms of acceptability,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of Anambra North Equity Group, Victor Uchechukwu, said the National Assembly election in the area was rancour and violence free. He said unlike some of the irregularities that characterized most national elections, including intimidation of voters and massive thumb printing of ballot papers, the election in Anambra North area was free of such. He said people voted, results were counted and winners were declared.
He said left for him and the organisation he represents, losers in the election should toe the path of honour by congratulating Princess Oduah and avoiding needless spending of time and resources on litigation at the tribunal.
Okwudili Chetuya, who spoke on behalf of Mandate for Anambra North Rebirth, said the 2015 National Assembly election that produced Princess Oduah as the senator-elect for Anambra North marked a milestone in the much-anticipated movement towards renaissance for the zone. He said the entire people of Anambra North were brothers and sisters who should be concerned about how to take the zone to the next level rather than engaging in infighting and squabbles. He said the outcome of the election was a divine predestination, adding that tension would have enveloped the area if Princess Oduah were not declared winner.
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