Electoral Reforms In Nigeria

This paper examined elections in Nigeria by highlighting the challenges and opportunities for electoral reforms in Nigeria.The paper recommended the need for political commitment from the political leadership for successful electoral reform. It also recommended that government should strengthen the independence and capacity of electoral body.INTRODUCTION

In the contemporary world of today, elections have become the most acceptable means of changing leadership in any given political system. Election ordinarily, in most democratic states is usually conducted by an institution set up by law in a given society. Representative government is often referred to as democracy where the authority of government is derived solely from the consent of the governed. The principal mechanism for translating that consent into governmental authority is the holding of free and fair elections.

History has shown that it is usually difficult to hold elections that are completely free and fair. Even the United States (US) election that led to the victory of President Bush was alleged to be marred with irregularities in the State of Florida. Studies on elections have revealed that transiting from one regime to another is often the problem in most African states. For instance, the recent elections in Kenya were reported to be seriously flawed and impacted by irregularities in vote tabulation and reporting of results. In Nigeria, the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Presidential elections were reported to be marred by irregularities by foreign and local observers.

It is generally believed among some scholars that elections in Nigeria impact negatively on national development. It is on the basis of the above concern that a general consensus has been formed among scholars that there is the need for electoral reforms. The nature, scope and methodology of such reforms have remained topical in national debate. This paper is therefore aimed at examining elections in Nigeria with a view to highlighting the challenges and opportunities for electoral reforms in Nigeria.

ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA
Since the transition from military rule to the civilian Fourth Republic, Nigeria’s quest for effective democratic governance has confronted many challenges. The integrity of the electoral system is a major issue facing Nigeria’s new democracy. It is known from past history that turbulent elections have been a source of political crisis in Nigeria. Controversies surrounding elections have serious potential to undermine the legitimacy and stability of democracy. There could be the most serious consequences for democratic development if political leaders are unable to reach consensus on rules of political conduct, and if the Nigerian public therefore becomes alienated from the electoral process. Nigerians would universally suffer from further political crises or an interruption of democratic rule. Even President Umar Musa Yar’Adua acknowledged the fact that Nigerian electoral system needs reform. It was on the basis of the above that Yar’Adua made the issue of electoral reforms an integral part of his seven point agenda.

CHALLENGES
Electoral reform is an urgent challenge for Nigeria’s developing democracy. Controversies over past elections in Nigeria have undermined previous democratic regimes. It may be recalled that the controversies that erupted in the 1983 Presidential elections paved way for the military to seize power and put an end to the fledging democracy. Furthermore, 1992 elections conducted by the Babaginda regime led to the June 12 crisis that almost tore the entire country apart. From historical records, it can be deduced that the electoral system in Nigeria has a lot of lapses which makes it possible for political leaders to rig elections. This proposition was confirmed by the court of Appeal sitting in a recent election petition matter which described the Nigerian electoral Act 2006 as an Election rigging manual.

One of the challenges that the Nigerian electoral body faces is the fact that all elections are held within the same period. This alone creates room for rigging because the electoral body is over worked and exposed to poor security arrangement. The electoral body is also faced with the challenges of poor staffing as it has to source ad hoc staff. As the nation continues to grapple with the problems associated with Nigeria’s electoral system, it is essential, to at this juncture address the problems in the electoral system and to prepare the groundwork for smooth, peaceful, and credible elections in the future. There is widespread concern that irregularities in elections could undermine the legitimacy and stability of Nigeria’s democratic system. Urgent reforms are therefore needed to correct these flaws in future polls.

OPPORTUNITIES
Despite the identified challenges facing Nigeria’s electoral system, it must be acknowledged that there are still opportunities available to Nigeria for a viable and efficient electoral system. In this regard, there is the need for the following:

a. Political Commitment to Reform. Free and fair elections are a key to building a democracy. The first step is for political leaders, from all branches of government and every political grouping, to affirm their commitment to basic principles for a free, fair, and violence-free election in the future. Political commitment at the highest levels is needed for successful electoral reform, and the major participants in contesting elections must unite around common standards of conduct and rules of law.

b. Strengthening the Independence and Capacity of Electoral Body. The general view among Nigerians is that all the independent bodies set up to conduct elections often lacks sufficient independence or effectiveness to administer fair and transparent elections. Above all, a credible election process requires an independent, non-partisan, competent, and professional election administration. To achieve this goal, the following steps government needs to adopt the following:
i. Appointment. The process of appointment for future electoral body has to assure that the body members are competent and non-partisan, and that they enjoy a reputation for neutrality. While there are different ways to accomplish this, the overall modalities for selecting such officials should be revised. Electorates should have a say on who becomes electoral officers by way of referendum. Alternatively, a reputable body such as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) could propose candidates directly to the Senate for confirmation.
ii. Term. To secure independence, the senior officials of the electoral body like the commissioners should be career civil servants.

iii. Conducting Election. Experience has shown that Nigeria’s elections are usually conducted together within the same period. The resultant effect is that such election are hastily conducted paving way for a lot of irregularities that are beyond the control of the electoral body. It is in this regard that this paper argues that there are opportunities for Nigeria to spread its election over the period of complete government tenure.
iv. Funding. Such electoral body requires a secure source of funding to ensure adequate resources for election administration, and availability of funds as needed. The electoral body should be able to present its budget directly to the National Assembly (as obtainable in Canada, another federal democracy), and its funding should come from consolidated revenue. The level of funding for such body could be determined by a standard formula that reflects the number of registered voters times the average cost of conducting an election per voter.
v. Party Representation. The political parties should not directly administer elections, but they need to have a voice in the electoral body to convey concerns, as well as a channel for being informed. Therefore, they could be represented in an established Advisory Council, which could sit in on the electoral body meetings but could not vote. Importantly, there is the need for independent candidacy in all elections.
vi. Professional Training. Such electoral body should develop a career professional service, equivalent to the career foreign service. Amending the conditions of service and the standards of professionalism within the electoral body will raise the capacities and the stature of the institution, better positioning the body to oversee elections. As a point of comparison, Mexico made the transition from a weak electoral system to a highly trained and professional institution in less than a decade, and a key element in its success was training.
vi. Polling and Counting Procedures. There is great concern that the official count in recent elections did not accurately reflect the preferences of the people, and that the right to a secret ballot was often violated. To address these concerns, both voting and counting procedures should be made more transparent and subject to stronger independent oversight. The following improvements are essential:
(1) Polling at each precinct should be done in the presence of party agents and domestic observers, and procedures to ensure ballot secrecy should be reviewed and improved.
(2) Sheets with final results should be signed at each polling station by designated polling officials, party agents, and domestic observers, with copies available for all.
(3) Representatives of party agents and independent observers must be allowed to accompany the forms to collation and counting centers, and to witness each stage of tabulation.
(4) The results of the ballots should be available on the web down to the precinct level, so that the original signatories can verify that they were counted accurately.

vii. Campaign Finance and Conflict of Interest. There is a general believe among Nigerians that corruption in Nigerian politics undermines democracy and requires constant vigilance by government and civil society groups. The most assuring approach to stemming political corruption, as seen in many countries, includes regulations on contributions and campaign expenditures by parties and candidates, along with clear rules on conflict of interest.

CONCLUSION
Given Nigeria’s diversity, it is obvious that democracy is the sole political choice for its survival, and the best system for managing the nation’s current challenges is by fostering better governance, and ensuring popular welfare. This can be achieved through an efficient electoral system. The fact remains that the current electoral system is faulty and requires reforms. In adopting electoral reforms, the following are recommended.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are hereby recommended:

a. There is the need for political commitment from the political leadership for successful electoral reform.
b. Government should strengthen the independence and capacity of electoral body.
c. There is the need to spread elections over a period of time.
d. There is the need for independent candidacy as obtainable in other civilized democracies. By abubakar yusuf mamud