ELECTORAL REFORM AND
FUTURE ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA
Abubakar Sadiq Ibrahim
The Nigerian constitution saddles the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC, with the responsibility of
organising and conducting free and fair elections for all
elective political offices in the country. It can therefore be
deduced that the country’s constitution envisages the conduct of
nationally and internationally acceptable elections as a prelude
to attaining a sustainable and enduring democracy.
However, widespread electoral malpractices have characterised
previous elections in the country. The outcomes of some
elections conducted in 2007 are still being challenged in the
law Courts, where some elections have been quash in landmark
judgements. These developments have taken its toll on the
country.
Worried by this development, the present administration of
President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua decided to holistically reform the
country’s electoral system, to ensure that future elections are
devoid of the malpractices that have attended past elections. To
this end, a Presidential Electoral Reform Committee was set up
by the government, with a former Chief Justice of Nigeria,
Justice Muhammad Uwais as its chairman.
The committee was to find out why previous elections lacked
credibility and ended in violent protests. It was to come up
with recommendations on how to conduct credible elections in the
future. The committee recommended a gamut of electoral reforms,
including the granting of independence to the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC, in carrying out its
assignment.
The committee comprising eminent personalities who have
distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavours, also
recommended, among other things that litigations over election
results should be concluded before the stipulated swearing-in
date of the eventual winner. The recommendations of the
committee got national and international applause and were
described as capable of addressing electoral failures of the
past, if implemented.
The Presidency has made its input and forwarded the report to
the Parliament for deliberation and passage into law when the
legislature reconvenes in January 2010.
What is instructive in all of these is that there appears to be
a clear determination and willingness on the part of the
electorate, political leaders, the legislature and the judiciary
to entrench a civilized way of conducting elections in the
country.
On the part of the government, strengthening of the security
agencies and making the Independent National Electoral
Commission truly independent should be priorities. In this case,
the funding of the electoral commission should be adequate and
come as a first-line charge from the consolidated revenue of the
country.
Electoral reform cannot, in itself, bring about the desired
change in Nigeria’s electoral system. Officials charged with the
responsibility of implementing the reforms, politicians and the
Nigerian people must be committed to making the reforms work.
This is the only way to make the people’s votes count. This is
the panacea to the electoral malady of the past. This is the
only path to sustaining and deepening the culture of democracy
in Nigeria.
