Reforming the nation’s election system is one issue that has dominated electoral discourse over the years, especially after the 2007 elections. The agitation became more pronounced after the 2023 general elections and with the spate of defections by elected office holders. Many believe that reforming the system will give the nation’s electoral system some level of credibility. But not many agree that the nation will succeed in this venture even as the National Assembly seeks to amend both the constitution and the electoral act in this regards. TONY AKOWE reports.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, Nigerians have continued to agitate for an electoral reform that will ensure a holistic overhaul of the electoral process in the country. These reforms being sought by Nigerians goes far beyond an amendment to the Electoral Act, but giving constitutional backing to certain issues that will give credence to them in relation to the elections in the country and creating certain institutions that will assist the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in promoting electoral credibility in the country. It is on record that the current management of INEC has consistently stressed the need to unbundle the commission with a view to reducing its work load and allowing it to concentrate on purely electoral matters. Presently, the commission is constitutionally mandated to register and regulate political parties, conduct elections as well as investigate and prosecute electoral offenders.
Not many Nigerians believe that the nation’s electoral umpire has nurtured the electoral system to a stage of maturity with great improvement in the system. but since the infamous ‘do or die’ electoral declaration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo before the 2007 general election to the admission by late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua that he was not proud of the election that brought him to power, the agitation for electoral reform by Nigerians has consistently been on the increase. That led to the setting up of the Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais Committee on Electoral Reform which made far reaching recommendations on how to repositioning and reforming the electoral process in Nigeria. Unfortunately, majority of the recommendations have not been implemented several years after. While some of these recommendations required constitutional amendments, others require tinkering with the electoral act and both.
For example, the recommendation for an electoral offences commission and tribunal and the recommendation on the establishment of a political party registration and regulatory commission require constitutional amendment to give them the force of law. Although the Senate passed the bill to establish the Electoral Offences Commission that will be saddled with the responsibility of investigating and prosecuting electoral offenders in the 9th Assembly, the House of Representatives failed to pass the same law. At the session presided over by the then Deputy Speaker where the bill was scheduled for consideration, the House turned the report and asked its committee on Electoral Matters to correct obvious errors. The report never made it back for consideration before the expiration of the life of that Assembly. That meant that the bill had to be returned to the House and reworked. The bill sponsored by Bamidele Salam returned to the parliament as a constitutional amendment bill and form one of the 12 bills on electoral reform being considered by the 10th House of Representatives Committee on Constitution Review.
The Citizens’ Coalition for Electoral Reform says any reforms in the electoral system in the country should focus on two main areas. These are the administrative and legal framework. They also argued that there is a need for the review of INEC’s regulations and guidelines, which are contained in the INEC Memorandum for Administrative Reform. Like many Nigerians, the group believes that the process of appointing the Chairman, National Commissioners, and Resident Electoral Commissioners should be reviewed, with the power taken away from the President. Rather, they want a multi-stakeholder approach to appointments into INEC, including consultations with the National Council of State, as well as traditional and religious institutions and civil society.
They are also of the view that the criteria for appointments into INEC should be reviewed, as the current criteria of non-partisanship and unquestionable character prescribed by the Constitution have proven inadequate. They want the introduction of additional criteria such as professional skills and qualifications, health, age, and gender, saying: ‘Election administration requires individuals with diverse legal, IT, logistics, statistics, and communications skills. The appointing authority should consider the age, health status, and gender of nominees when making appointments to the commission.” This argument draw support from the House Constitution Review Committee who are seeking an amendment to the constitution to reform the processes of appointing the INEC Chairman by involving the National Judicial Council in the selection process there by enhancing the independence, credibility and transparency of the appointment process.
On its part, PAACA said: “currently, the President holds considerable power over the appointment of INEC members, and its funding is subject to annual appropriation, leading to a perceived lack of autonomy.’ They are proposing the establishment of a broad-based selection committee with members drawn from civil society, the judiciary, and the National Assembly, including the National Judicial Council, to preside over the selection process into the Independent National Electoral Commission. They also propose a five-year single tenure for members appointed to the commission. Presently, members of the commission can serve two terms of five years each. The current system allows the President to nominate the Chairman and members of the commission, as well as Resident Electoral Commissioners”.
Incidentally, the recommendations of the Justice Uwais Commission falls in line with the recommendations of the Political Reform Conference and the 2014 National Conference set up by former President Goodluck Jonathan. Since the 2023 general elections, there have been so many agitations, and the electoral umpire itself has held series of stakeholders meeting aimed at creating a better electoral process in the country. At one of such for with members of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matter, the INEC Chairman spoke of the need to reduce cost of conducting elections in the country. One of the reforms being proposed by the Commission which is also contained in the bill to amend the electoral act 2022 is the provision that will eliminate by-elections in parliamentary elections. Clause 40 (1 and 2) of the bill seeking to amend the electoral act states that “where an elected member of a legislative house at any level of government resigns, dies or is otherwise unable to continue in office before the expiration of the tenure for which the member was elected, the political party under whose platform the member was elected shall have the mandate to nominate a replacement from within the party in accordance with the procedure for nomination of candidates in section 84(2). The nomination under paragraph 1 shall be made within 60 days after the seat is declared vacant by the presiding office due to resignation, death or incapacity of the member”. But Hon. Kolawole Davidson Akinlayo, the member representing Moba/Ilejemeje/Ido Osi Federal Constituency of Ekiti State in the House of Representatives is not in support of that move. He believe that the proposal by the commission for the party of the deceased lawmaker who the one that resigned to produce the replacement is not democratic. He said “that’s not proper. If INEC suggests that model, that would be tantamount to denying the people the right to choose the person they want to occupy that position because the leadership of the parties can just sit somewhere and pick a candidate. That will not reflect the feeling of the generality of that people in that area.”
Aside the position of INEC and clamour by Nigerians, the House of Representatives has also made electoral reform one of its key priority, forming one of the items on its legislative agenda.
According to the item on the agenda, the House pledged to “carefully examine complaints and observations made by stakeholders arising from the conduct of the 2023 general elections. Specific actions to be taken by the House include amend the Electoral Act 2022 to remedy some of the gaps observed, including vague and contradicting provisions, pass an independent legislation (the Political Parties Bill) to regulate the registration, financing and functioning of political parties in Nigeria and, by so doing, allow INEC to focus on the conduct of elections; set up a mechanism for periodic reviews of electoral laws to ensure they remain relevant and in tune with global best practices”.
It also planned to “amend the Electoral Act 2022 to allow diaspora voting by government officials around the world, ensure the passage of the National Electoral Offences Commission Bill to confer powers of the Commission to prosecute electoral offences, propose amendments to the Constitution on issues related to elections in Nigeria to address the appointment of Chairman and National Commissioners of the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC); creation of an Electoral Offences Commission as an independent body; and the relevance or otherwise of Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) of INEC in the States”.
The process of unbundling the commission does not just rely on amending the Electoral Act or creating legislation by the National Assembly. It also involves amending the relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution. For example, the Constitution must first be amended to transfer INEC’s responsibility for registering and regulating political parties and prosecuting electoral offences to other institutions, which will be established by an Act of the National Assembly, such as the proposed Political Party Registration and Regulatory Commission and the Electoral Offences Commission. The functions to be ascribed to these bodies are already conferred on INEC by the Constitution, and only a constitutional amendment can alter this if the nation is to avoid a constitutional crisis and reduce INEC’s enormous and onerous responsibilities. Relevant sections of the Constitution include paragraph 15 of the Third Schedule and Section 144.
Some of the bills being considered by the House Committee on constitution review include a bill to alter sections 40, 81, 84, 153, 222, 225, 226,228 and the third schedule to the constitution to provide for the establishment of the Political Party Registration and Regulatory Commission in other to reduce the burden on INEC and also allow the new body take charge of the registration, supervision, regulation of the operation of all registered political parties in the country, their finances, internal democracy, party primaries, conventions and meetings and other activities of political parties. The bill to this effect is sponsored by Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen. In addition, the House is also considering a bill to establish an Electoral Offences Commission with power to investigate and prosecute pre-election, Election Day and post-election crime as well as amending sections of the constitution to provide for the conduct of all elections on the same day. This, according to the House is to ensure a streamlined electoral process so as to reduce the administrative burden on INEC and ensure a more efficient and inclusive voting system for all citizens.
The Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre in Africa (PAACA) supports the idea of an electoral offences Commission.
PAACA said: “presently, election-related offences are cumbersome to prosecute within the existing federal or state high courts, leading to severe delays and backlogs. While election petition tribunals exist, there is no dedicated mechanism to handle criminal electoral offences like ballot snatching or vote buying. We propose that federal and state laws should provide for special electoral courts or divisions, mandated to hear these cases within a stringent 90-day timeframe from the commencement of proceedings.”
There are also recommendations for a review of the period of elections and the dispensing of election petitions before inauguration. The bill seeks to ensure that all election petition and appeals arising thereof are resolved before elected officials assume office. The House said the goal of this constitutional amendment is to enhance electoral transparency and legitimacy. It said “by settling pre-inauguration disputes, the bill will prevent governance disruptions and boost public trust. This measure ensures only candidates with undisputed mandates takes office. This will promote a seamless power transition and strengthens democracy”. The implication of this provision is the procedures for elections may have to be altered either in the constitution or in the electoral act. Interestingly, there is a bill, that sought to make the Appeal Court the starting point for Governorship election petition, terminating in the senate just like the Presidential election, while legislative elections start from the tribunals and ends at the Court of Appeal. Clause 135 of the electoral act amendment bill currently being considered speaks to this constitutional amendment provision. It provide that the election petition tribunal be set up 30 days before the conduct of an election and should commence sitting not later than 8 days after the elections. It also provide that an election petition be filed 21 days after the date of declaration of election result and deliver judgement within 90 days (down from 180 days in the 2022 electoral act). It also provides that appeals arising from such judgement must be filed not later than 14 days from the date of judgement, while the appeal must be dispense with not later than 60 days after filing the appeal. This also apply to pre-election matters which must however be filed with 14 days from the date of the occurrence of the event being challenged. It also said that “an election tribunal or court shall not declare any person a winner of an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all stages of the election”. This tends to address situations where aspirants who lost party primaries are later declared winners of the main election because after the disqualification of the main candidate because of pre-election matters. This provision points to the fact that in such situation, the court can only order a by- election.
One suggestion that tends to draw the support of the majority of Nigerians is the reduction in the time limit for election petitions. This is also a constitutional matter that needs to be dealt with by the Constitution Review Committee.
Presently, the Constitution requires election petitions to be dealt with within 180 days from the date of filing such a petition. But advocates of reforms want the period reduced to 90 days, while the timeframe for the disposal of appeals on pre-election and election petitions should be reduced from 60 days to 30 days.
Other provisions in the electoral act amendment bill that tends to support the provisions of dispensing election petition before inauguration is the provision contained in clause 27 (1&3) which provides that elections be conducted not earlier than 210 day (180 days in the 2022 electoral act) and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of the office. The Citizens’ Coalition wants the period increased from the current 90 days to the end of tenure to 240 days. This has also drawn support from several groups and political watchers who believe that holding elections earlier will give enough time for election petitions to be dispensed with. However, those who oppose this suggestion think that the Nigerian people will suffer more for such action, as governance will be abandoned early by political office holders. They argue that politicians have more often than not abandoned their responsibilities to engage in electioneering while neglecting their official duties. They also argue that those who are likely to lose such elections will abandon governance too early.
The reforms being sought appeared to have taken into consideration, the major crisis that almost crumbled the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party over the issue of its National Secretary. The House wants a constitutional provision that will compel party leaders seeking to contest elective government position to first resign their position before embarking on such mission. Senator Samuel Anyanwu’s foray into the governorship election in Imo State left the party in a serious battle that lasted several months. The House is saying that resigning before contesting elective government position will ensure that no official holds both party and elective office at the same time. The implication of this, however, is that the political parties may have to amend their constitution to accommodate this provision as no party constitution can override a national law.
It is also proposing the participation of independent candidates in the nation’s electoral process. Such persons would not have to join any political party. But given the spate of defection of candidates, especially after losing party primaries, the proposed law is seeking to ensure that you must not be a member of any of the registered political parties one year before the date set for the election. Checks by The Nation revealed that while independent candidates actively participate in elections in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, they have not made any significant impact on elections over the years. For example, about 2 percent of the total number of candidates contesting national election in the US, 10 percent in the UK, 14 percent in France and about 2.5 percent in Germany. No independent candidate won election in Germany between 2024 and 2025, while only about 2 percent of those who contested in the US and the UK won seat in parliament, with the figure higher in France with about 3 percent. If this provision sails through, it will amend sections 7, 65, 106, 131,177, 221 and 228 of the 1999 constitution.
Other reforms being suggested by Nigerians, which appear to have the backing of INEC and the National Assembly, include the issue of diaspora voting and early voting for Nigerians engaged in essential duties during elections, as well as the creation of special seats for women. It also includes compulsory electronic transmission of results, which would require the strengthening of the Electoral Act to make electronic transmission of results mandatory, including the upload of polling unit-level results and results sheets used at different levels of collation. But this suggestion has not taken into consideration the technological advancement of the country, which is likely to leave this option open to manipulation. In some developed countries where election results are transmitted electronically, voting has often been conducted through electronic voting. The question has been how to ensure that this option remains workable in rural areas.
By Tony Akowe, Abuja
