Jega on electoral democracy (2)

 Last week, we began running a paper delivered by former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, at the public presentation of A Collection of Essays: Readings on the Legislature by Hamalai, Ladi in Abuja. In the paper titled ‘Some Reflections on the 2026 Electoral Act and Nigeria’s Electoral Democracy,’ the ex-umpire, a leading political scientist, reviewed Nigeria’s journey in electoral democracy and dissected the 2026 Electoral Act. The portion excerpted last week reviewed legislative frameworks for elections since 1999 and major provisions of the Electoral Act 2026 as they will impact future polls. The concluding part of the paper runs following:

3.0 Grey/bad provisions in the 2026 Electoral Act

Regardless of the lofty intentions of the 2026 Electoral Act, of adding value to the integrity of Nigerian elections, there are issues of serious concern, and some areas for further contemplation; so as to offer clarifications, remove ambiguities and strengthen its efficacy. Some of them, which I consider significant, are as follows:

•Section 138(1) of the 2026 Electoral Act excludes qualification as a ground for post-election challenge. The constitutionality of such exclusion given Section 131 of the 1999 Constitution is in doubt. Besides, it is a very good provision in the previous Acts, which has been put to good use, and there does not seem to be any rational justification for removing it; unless, of course, if some certificate fraudsters and qualification racketeers would like to have an unrestricted field day.

•Section 83(5) states that “no court in Nigeria shall entertain jurisdiction over any suit or matter pertaining to the internal affairs of a political party." This is a sweeping generalization that would need to be moderated, as “internal affairs” of a political party pertain to, or contradict constitutional provisions, for example that protect fundamental rights and the Rule of Law. How could courts be denied the power to entertain these matters?

•Section 60(3) of the Electoral Act, 2026, on electronic transmission of results, which permits a vague the hybrid method, in my view, is a grey area that needs sanitizing. There is a sense in which if all efforts at digitization and electronic transmission fail, there would be need to fall back on the paper trail. However, given what we know about the Nigerian environment and the desperation of the ‘do-or-die” politicians, there shouldn’t be such a vague provision, which would be used to truncate electronic transmission in favor of manual transmission of results, which is easier to fraudulently manipulate and exploit. Besides, there is an undue emphasis on reliance on data on the IReV portal for final determination of results in case transmission failure? If this is so, there is a misunderstanding of the fact that IReV transmitted data is for public “Viewing” purposes only. The data to be relied upon in result declaration should be the backend result compilation database, which ideally is more secure, not publicly accessible, and less susceptible to fraudulent intrusion.

•The electoral process can be trusted when its laws and processes, including the use of technologies, are adopted and put to use transparently across all the levels of elections. Hence, the integrity of the new act and the 2027 general elections matters.

•While speedy legislation making is desirable, it should not be unnecessarily hurried, thereby creating the impression that there is a hidden agenda! Inputs that would strengthen the legislation, especially by Legislators themselves, and other key stakeholders need to be transparently seen to be accommodated.  

•In any case, it is one thing to have a good electoral legal framework, and it is another thing to put it to good use. In the Nigerian context, the devil is usually brazenly in how the legal provisions are applied, misapplied, ignored and/or recklessly violated. We have already seen many instances of these.

4.0 Recommendations

If it is at all possible and feasible, urgent amendment to the 2026 Electoral Act should be carried out, within the AU/ECOWAS protocols, which require all amendments to and reviews of the electoral legal framework to be completed at least 6 months to the general elections, in at least the 3 sections discussed above: Section I38 (1); Section 83(5) and Section 60(3).

Post-2027 elections, other pertinent reforms to the electoral legal framework (Constitution and the Electoral Act), that should be addressed at the earliest opportunity in the next electoral cycle, which are persistent carry-overs from recommendations made by other panels, such as the Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais’ ERC, are as follows:

•To strengthen the independence of INEC, the power of appointment of the chairman and national commissioners should be divested from Mr. President, in order to free the Commission from the damaging negative perception of “he who pays the piper dictates the tune." 

•INEC should be ‘unbundled’ to enable it focus on preparation and conduct of elections; while other agencies should be entrusted to handle prosecution of electoral offenders, constituency delimitation, registration and regulation of political parties.

•A stringent legal threshold needs to be provided, which political parties must cross, beyond mere registration as a political party, before they can vie and field candidates for, especially, the offices of Governor and President.

•The campaign finance limits are high, entrenching the phenomenon of monetization of the electoral process. There is a need to reduce these; and in any case, there is also the need for effective oversight to ensure compliance by regulatory and law enforcement bodies for whatever campaign financing limits and thresholds are legally placed.

5.0 Conclusion

•Without doubt, electoral reforms play a major role in shaping how citizens view the liberal democratic process and whether they choose to participate in it. Prolonged delay in reviewing / amending and improving electoral legal framework needs to be avoided; and the commendable effort of initiating legal reforms from one electoral cycle to another needs to be sustained. But reforms measures must be products of broad-based consultations, as nationalistic, patriotic and selfless endeavors by legislators, the government in power and key stakeholders,  with a clear focus on adding remarkable value to electoral integrity and sustainable participatory democratic development.

•When reforms improve transparency, access, and fairness, they strengthen public trust in democratic institutions and encourage greater voter turnout, civic engagement, and participation as well as accountability of elected officials to the electorate.

•While the National Assembly and all stakeholders involved deserve commendation for ensuring that the 2022 Electoral Act was replaced by the 2026 Electoral Act within one electoral cycle, some misplaced, whether unintended, are deliberately and selfishly introduced, have tended to undermine the corrective efficacy of the new law. These may need to be looked at and remedied as soon as is possible.

•In a country like Nigeria, building trust through inclusive and well-implemented electoral reforms will be critical to long-term, sustainable, democratic development.

•Ultimately, the courts have a major responsibility in interpreting electoral legal provisions with integrity, in order to safeguard the integrity of the electoral process. There are serious worrisome concerns emanating from the judicial quarters, in this regard, with willful acts by reckless judges/justices, acts of ‘judicial rascality’, which undermine not only electoral integrity and democratic development, but also integrity of the courts, and which the NJC needs to swiftly nip in the bud. 

•A good legal framework is a necessary condition for electoral integrity and desirable, sustainable democratic development. But it is not a sufficient condition. Other requirements include, democratic character, mindset and disposition of the political parties and the politicians that populate them; enlightened and actively participating citizenry; and institutions that discharge their responsibilities effectively, efficiently, and with integrity. It is a good combination of all these that puts a country in transition to democracy on the trajectory for stable, sustainable democratic development.  

•Indeed, all hands need to be firmly on deck, to ensure a conducive environment for the preparation and conduct of 2027 general elections with integrity; and improving the prospects of stable, sustainable democratic development in Nigeria.