Of the 29 governorship elections held across Nigeria penultimate Saturday, seven are yet to be concluded. Six of the seven were formally declared inconclusive elections: Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kano, Sokoto and Plateau while the last—Rivers, was halted. Worried by irregularities that characterised the 2019 polls generally, Blueprint seeks opinions of lawyers on the possible nexus between available electoral laws in the country and the outcome of the polls. Our Kehinde Osasona captured their perspectives. Excerpts
Nigeria should emulate United Kingdom electoral, political system – Barr. Ayo Ogundele
Well, if you closely examine the way elections are conducted in Nigeria, you would discover that it is not that relevant electoral laws are not in place but that the irregularities we usually experience are as a result of our attitudes.
Elections are conducted in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and elsewhere. Have you ever heard of dispute about elections there? Have you ever heard that they have election tribunal in the United Kingdom?
Mind you, United Kingdom does not have constitution; they operate unwritten constitution and convention. So, what is the problem with us? We have constitution, Electoral Acts and all kinds of laws, yet we are still not getting it right.
In the UK, you can never hear of election petition in their politics. In fact, there is no provision for tribunal, objection or even re-run. Once election is done today in the UK, the next day, the Prime Minister emerges.
All those things are part and parcel of their own development. And this is so because they have grown to a level where election has become a normal process.
So, if they say don’t snatch the ballot boxes, what would make you do so? Is it laws that make us to change election figures on the way to collation centre? For me, it is not about the law but our attitude in this part of the world.
I think we should start to reform and begin to speak to ourselves on how to do the right thing. The United Kingdom for me is our best example of how the country should manage its political and electoral system.
Electoral Acts would have helped in tightening up some loopholes – Elaigo Apeh
The issue surrounding election challenges in Nigeria is composite: It has to do with law, sociology and political attitude.
You see, no amount of law put in place can check election irregularities in Nigeria. This is because we have a situation in our hands where the power, the force that is compelling us to pursue a political office is so massive that we want to get it at all cost or in a do-or-die manner.
So, for me, it is not just about the simple issue of amendment. The fundamental point is: How do we reduce the desperate desire for power? You see, we like too much law, and it informs why we are good at breaking or subverting the laws.
For instance, when you look at the militarization from Rivers to the Bayelsa angle, you would discover that the people there believe so much in the argument of force to achieve their aims. Reason I can adduce here is that an average Nigerian is good at breaching the law such that he is always ready to deploy all in winning election.
Now on the issue of inconclusive elections, it is also as a result of this idea of ‘I must win it in my own way’. Then there are violations of the rules forgetting that election itself is governed by certain rules.
On the Electoral Act, just as you mentioned, I think there are some ways it may be able to tighten up some issues. For example, the issue of card readers, which if for some of us, had been incorporated into the electoral acts, might make the process more effective.
Buhari erred by not signing electoral acts – Barr. Ehi Ejekela
The issue of Electoral Act amendment and its full operation as the case may be, is long overdue. Some of the obvious loopholes would have been taken care of.
Elections in about eight or six states were inconclusive. Where are we going? How can we move forward if we are witnessing this type of thing in the twenty first century. Imagine, we cannot transmit result directly from the polling booth to the headquarters. It is an eye sore.
Look at Rwanda, they have gone far ahead of Nigeria. Drones deliver very important things to the hospitals and they are getting their politics right. What about Ghana close by here, you can’t see even police at the polling booths. Just like a normal day, you vote and go away and result will come out. But here, it is a different ball game. In actual fact, we are behaving as if we are still in the stone-age era.
If our memory would not fail us, the Electoral Act was submitted to Mr President and he turned it down deliberately knowing fully well what the outcome of this election is going to be.
As it were, we don’t know who may help us to assent to that electoral act; whether Buhari would do the needful in this second tenure of his remains to be seen. But I think we have to save this nascent democracy because Nigerians are beginning to give up on some of our leaders and elites for not doing the right thing when it matters most.
Electoral Acts should be amended, signed – Chinedu Ojobor
We have said it times without number that it is very illegal to use the military during elections. Most of the time, the military are meant to deal with external forces or situation where security has broken down and the police cannot handle things.
For me, unleashing the military on the people exercising their civic responsibility does not only deter people from exercising their franchise, it creates fear in them. Such action also characterizes voter apathy and, as envisaged, a lot died in some of the states with allegations now indicting the military.
So, I think the earlier we realize that election is not war, the better for all of us. I think it was illegal to have used the military in the first place.
On the electoral acts, do you know you don’t even need a public holiday to vote. Let the electoral act be in such a way that wherever you are, you can vote just like using one’s Automated Machine to withdraw cash.
Ineffectiveness of electoral acts, our bane – Monday Podos
When issue like this comes up, we look at things critically and try to find a link. Though, a President has the power to either sign or withdraw his assent to the electoral acts. If you are conversant with the elections outcome, you would discover that card readers failed and a lot of people were disenfranchised and could not exercise their rights as permitted by the constitution.
Don’t also forget that if the electoral act is effective, the President would not have the right to deploy the military in an election for whatsoever reason because it is an issue of law.
On the issue of militarization of some States, the intimidation of the electorates clearly negates the tenets of democracy.
Way forward is signing the electoral acts – Isaac Ebipo
The issue is that some of these things happening were predicted beforehand. In the 2019 elections for instance, things took a different dimension entirely.
INEC did not also have a clear cut idea of what to follow and how their guidelines should guide the electorates during the elections. Guidelines are not law, but they have been taken as if they are laws.
Again, action taken by INEC on the issue or problems of inconclusive elections stemmed from the same guideline. They are relying on it. It reads that where the difference or margin between the winner and the second runner up is less or that the cancelled votes are more, then there can be a re-run.
But I think the only way forward is for the president to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2018 into law. The work has been done and is thorough so that we can rectify all these issues before next elections.
