MANAGING THE ELECTORAL PROCESS

MANAGING THE ELECTORAL PROCESS: CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVES

By
Otive Igbuzor, PhD
Executive Director
African Centre for Leadership, Strategy & Development (Centre LSD),
4 Franca Afegbua Crescent,
Off J. S. Mariere Road,
Apo, Abuja.
E-mail: otiveigbuzor@yahoo.co.uk
Website: www.centrelsd.org

A PAPER PRESENTED AT THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE, SPIDEL WORKING SESSION ON PUBLIC INTEREST AND DEVELOPMENT LAW HELD IN KADUNA ON 24TH AUGUST, 2010.

1. INTRODUCTION
There is consensus among theorists and development practitioners that one of the greatest challenges to the development of nations is political leadership. The progress, development and fortunes of many nations are tied to the type and quality of political leadership that they have had and continue to have. Several scholars have argued that the greatest problem confronting Africa is the political condition underscoring the importance of political leadership. According to Claude Ake:
Many factors have been offered to explain the apparent failure of the development enterprise in Africa: the colonial legacy, social pluralism and centrifugal tendencies, the corruption of leaders, poor labour discipline, the lack of entrepreneurial skills, poor planning and incompetent management, inappropriate policies, the stifling of market mechanisms, low levels of technical assistance, the limited inflow of foreign capital, falling commodity prices and unfavourable terms of trade, and low levels of saving and investment. These factors are not irrelevant to the problem, Alone or in combination they could be serious impediments to development. However, the assumption so readily made that there has been failure of development is misleading. The problem is not so much that development has failed as that it was never really on the agenda in the first place. By all indications, political conditions in Africa are the greatest impediment to development.
It has been established that the best approach for the emergence of political leadership in modern world is through the electoral process. Many countries all over the world are therefore constantly refining their electoral processes to ensure the emergence of the right kind of political leadership. In Nigeria, the process of refining the electoral process has been a recurrent one. Since the return to civil rule in 1999 after many years of military rule, the electoral law guiding the conduct of elections has been amended after every election leading to the enactment of the 2001, 2006 and 2010 electoral acts.
2. ELECTION AND ELECTION STANDARDS
Election is crucial because it gives the procedure that allows members of an organization or community to choose representatives who will hold positions of authority within it. In any democratic system, it is crucial that elections be free and fair. Mackenzie (1967) identified four conditions for the conduct of a free and fair election viz.:
(1) An independent judiciary to interpret the electoral laws.
(2) An honest, competent non-partisan electoral body to manage the elections.

(3) A developed system of political parties.

 

 

 
(4) A general acceptance by the political community of the rules of the game.
Another scholar Dundas (1994) argued that the assessment of an election as to whether it is free and fair or not can be done by answering the following questions:
(1) Is the legal framework adequate to ensure that the organization of free and fair multi-party elections be achieved in a given situation?
(2) Has the potential to contribute to the holding of free and fair multi-party elections been reflected in the provisions of the constitution and those of electoral laws?
(3) Have the courts been given the fullest possible role in assisting aggrieved persons who complain about failures in the procedures of major election processes?
(4) Are the election safeguards satisfactorily balanced with the facilitation measures in place and aimed at delivering high quality election services at cost effective levels?

Over the years, scholars have identified electoral standards which contribute to uniformity, reliability, consistency, accuracy and overall professionalism in elections. These standards include:
1. Constitutional provision that provide the foundation for the key elements of electoral framework including electoral rights and the basic principles of the electoral system.
2. Electoral law that guides the conduct of the elections including the powers of the electoral management bodies and governmental bodies.
3. The election administration must demonstrate respect for the law; be non-partisan and neutral; transparent; accurate, professional and competent and must be designed to serve the voters.
4. The electoral system should guarantee political inclusiveness, representation, frequency of elections and fairness in the organization of electoral units.
5. The organization of electoral units is done in such a way as to achieve the objective of according equal weight to each vote to the greatest degree possible to ensure effective representation.
6. The legal framework should ensure that all eligible citizens are guaranteed the right to universal and equal suffrage as well as the right to contest elections without any discrimination.
7. The electoral management bodies are established and operate in a manner that ensures the independent and impartial administration of elections.
8. Voters registers are maintained in a manner that is transparent and accurate and protects the rights of qualified citizens to register, and prevents the unlawful or fraudulent registration or removal of persons.
9. All political parties and candidates are able to compete in elections on the basis of equitable treatment.
10. The electoral campaigns are organized in such a way that each political party and candidate enjoys the right to freedom of expression and freedom of association, and has access to the electorate, and that all stakeholders in the election process have an equal chance of success.
11. All political parties and candidates have access to the media owned or controlled by the state and those privately owned and that no unreasonable limitations are placed on the right of political parties and candidates to free expression during election campaigns.
12. All political parties and candidates are equitably treated by legal provisions governing campaign finances and expenditures.
13. Polling stations are accessible and that there is accurate recording of ballots and that the secrecy of the ballot is guaranteed.
14. All votes are counted and tabulated accurately, equally, fairly and transparently.
15. There are representatives of parties and candidates contesting the election to observe all voting processes.
16. To ensure transparency and to increase credibility, there should be provision for election observers to observe all stages of election process, and
17. There should be compliance with and enforcement of the electoral law.

3. THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
The electoral process can be divided into three main phases:
1. Pre-election phase: This phase includes activities such as delimitation, voter registration, registration of political parties, nomination process, campaign process, media and civic and voter education.
2. Election phase: This phase has to with Election Day activities including polling stations, secrecy of ballot, ballot papers, ballot boxes, election materials, counting, election monitoring and observation.
3. Post-election phase: This include announcement of results, post election review and post election disputes.
4. OVERVIEW OF NIGERIAS ELECTORAL PROCESS
There are a lot of challenges with the conduct of elections in Nigeria from the 1922 election to the 2007 election. It has been documented that elections in Nigeria are constant tales of violence, fraud and bad blood. The challenges include among other things irregularities which put the credibility of the entire electoral process in doubt; problems with the legislative framework which puts constraints on the electoral process; several organisations are not playing their roles to ensure credible, free and fair election; the electoral system does not give room for inclusiveness; lack of independence of electoral commissions; long process of election dispute resolution; irresponsible behaviour by politicians and followers manifesting in thuggery and violence; lack of effective democratic institutions and monetisation of politics. It has been documented that money not only determines who participates in electoral politics but that money drowns votes and voices in Nigeria as ˜godfathers openly confess about shady deals, funding or sponsoring elections for ˜godsons and purchasing electoral victory. The end result of the challenges is that the votes of the citizens do not count.

The 2007 general election was held on 14th April, 2007 for the President, Vice-President, Senators and members of the House of Representative and 21st April for the State Governors and members of the house of Assembly. Many commentators have argued that the 2007 election is the worst election in the history of the country in terms of irregularities and reversal of election result by election tribunals. Several Nigeria organisations monitored the 2007 election including Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), ActionAid Nigeria, the Catholic Justice, Development and Peace Committee (JDPC), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Federation of Muslim Women Association (FOMWAN). They all came with the verdict that the elections lack credibility and was not free and fair.
Scholars are in agreement that all previous elections in Nigeria have had one form of irregularity or the other. However, Okey Ibeanu has argued that the 2007 election is unique in some sense. According to him,
¦it is in a qualitatively different stage than what obtained in the past. The specificity of direct capture as a form of primitive accumulation of votes lies in the massive deployment and involvement of the state in its design and implementation. In earlier stages of primitive accumulation of votes (PAV), political parties rigged elections and although the state was generally not neutral, its institutions were used (instrumentalised) for the purpose of achieving PAV. In other words, state institutions were first captured by private interest, particularly political parties, and then deployed for PAV. Thus, the state acted in PAV in externality often serving to create the enabling environment for it to occur and supervising its implementation. Under direct capture, however, the state does not act in neutrality, but is the principal implementer of PAV. Thus, while in previous phases of PAV, political parties rigged elections using the instrumentality of the state, in direct capture, the state rigs elections for political parties. It is this change that accounts for the brazenness of election malpractice in the 2007 elections, namely the transformation of the state from an instrument and external enabler of rigging, to direct party and implementer of rigging.
It is very clear that the political class in Nigeria want to operate œdemocracy without elections. The challenge is therefore to ensure that we practice democracy in Nigeria with credible, free and fair elections.
In order to address the challenges of election in Nigeria especially the 2007 election, the former President, Alhaji Umar Musa YarAdua set up a 22 member Electoral Reform committee in August, 2007 to œexamine the entire electoral process with a view to ensuring that we raise the quality and standard of our general elections and thereby deepen our democracy. The committee had the following terms of reference:
Undertake a review of Nigerias history with general elections and identify factors which affect the quality and credibility of the election and their impact on the democratic process.
Examine relevant provisions of the 1999 Constitution, the electoral Act and other legislation that have bearing on the electoral process and assess their impact on the quality and credibility of general elections.
Examine the roles of institutions, agencies and stakeholders in shaping and impacting on the quality and credibility of the electoral process. These should include Government, Electoral Commission, Security Agencies, Political Parties, Non Governmental Oragnisations (NGOs), Media, General Public and the International Community.
Examine electoral systems relevant to Nigerias experience and identify best practices that would impact positively on the quality and credibility of the nations electoral process.
Make general and specific recommendations (including but not limited to constitutional and legislative provisions and/or amendments) to ensure:
i. A truly independent Electoral Commission imbued with administrative and financial autonomy;
ii. An electoral process that would enable the conduct of elections to meet international standards; and
iii. Legal processes that would ensure election disputes are concluded before inauguration of newly elected officials.
Mechanism to reduce post-election tensions including possibility of introducing the concept of proportional representation in the constitution of governments.
Make any other recommendations deemed necessary by the committee.
The terms of reference of the committee is very elaborate covering many of the challenges facing the conduct of credible, free and fair election in the country.
The Electoral Reform Committee Report submitted its report on 11th December, 2008. The committee received 1,466 memoranda, held public hearing in 12 states, two in each of the six geo-political zones and Abuja. During the public hearing, 907 presentations were made. Experts were invited from eleven countries and the committee made no foreign trips. The report of the committee was presented in six volumes. Volume one is the main report containing the executive summary and main recommendations. Volume two and three contain memoranda received by the committee while volume four is the verbatim report of the public hearings. Volume five and six contains report of retreats held with foreign experts and the appendices to the main report.
The report concluded that the 2007 election is the worst in the 85 year history of Nigerias elections which also showed a progressive degeneration of outcomes. The report concluded that the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) are overburdened with too many responsibilities which have affected their performance. The report also pointed out that the legislative framework is inadequate to guarantee the conduct of free and fair election especially with regard to the appointment, membership, mandate and functioning of Election Management Bodies. The report identified some factors that are responsible for the poor electoral outcome in Nigeria including the mindset of Nigerians about elections, poverty, corruption, lack of good governance, electoral system, incumbency, military intervention etc.

The report made a number of recommendations to address the identified problems including appointment of board of INEC by the National Judicial Council after advertisement and selection process, unbundling of INEC, independent candidacy, introduction of a mixed system of First-Past-The Post and proportional representation and amendment of the 1999 Constitution and the 2006 Electoral Act.
The report suggested the appointment of the Board of INEC by the National Judicial Council (NJC) who should advertise all the positions spelling out requisite qualifications, receive application/nominations from the general public, shortlist three persons for each position and send the nomination to the National Council of State to select one from the shortlist and forward to the Senate for confirmation. The report recommended the unbundling of INEC and the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission (EOC), Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission (PPRRC), Constituency Delimitation Commission (DCD) and Centre for Democratic Studies. The report attached three bills to amend the constitution, the electoral act and to create the Electoral Offences Commission (EOC). The report recommended for the amendment of the constitution and electoral laws to allow for independent candidate. The report prescribed that Nigeria should retain the First-Past-The-Post electoral system but should also inject a dose of proportional representation based on closed party lists, thus involving a mixed system. The report further recommended that 30 percent of existing legislative seats at the council, state houses of Assembly and the House of Representatives should be created and filled through a proportional representative system based on list by the political parties. The report recommended the open secret system of voting. It also recommended that election dispute should be concluded before swearing in of elected officials.
To be able to implement the recommendations, the report prescribed roles for the National Assembly, Executive, judiciary, INEC, political parties, security agencies, media, religious and traditional institutions, CSOs and international organisations.
While receiving the report from the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC), the then President, Alhaji Umar Musa YarAdua committed to implementing the recommendations. He stated clearly:
Our focus on the electoral reform is predicated on the belief that elections are the very heart of democracy hence they must not only be fair but they must also be seen to be so by our people and the rest of the world. We will carefully study and implement with the support of the National Assembly those recommendations that will guarantee popular participation, ensure fairness and justice, and bring credibility to the electoral process in Nigeria. It is our abiding belief that failure in instituting an acceptable process by which the representatives of the people are chosen will definitely resort in failure in the long run. For us to proceed in our effort, however, we need the buy in of all stakeholders: politicians, the media, civil society and indeed all Nigerians. Nurturing and sustaining a credible electoral regime indeed entail the co-operation and magnanimity of a winner who can appreciate the burden of responsibility, and gallant losers who will gracefully accept defeat in the certainty of the process if the process is fair. From inception, this administration has considered it a sacred mandate to institute deep and elaborate reforms that will lead to the restoration of the integrity of the electoral system in this country, and to ensure that future elections will meet minimum acceptable international standards.
The Federal Government white paper on the Electoral Reform Committee was released in March, 2009. The Federal Government accepted many of the recommendations of the committee including unbundling of INEC, the open secret ballot system, display of voters list, announcement of result at the polling both, independent candidacy, abolition of State Independent Electoral Commission, funding of INEC to be on first line charge on the consolidated revenue fund, politicians convicted of violence and thuggery to be banned for ten years.
But the Federal Government rejected the recommendation that appointment of INEC Board and the three bodies to be created should be done by the National Judicial Council. The Government also rejected the recommendation that election petition should be disposed off before swearing in.
President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has included electoral reform as one of his top most priority. He sent the Justice Mohammed Uwais report unedited to the National Assembly and nominated a new Chairman for INEC (Prof. Attahiru Jega) along with national commissioners and Resident electoral commissioners that have been commended by a cross section of Nigerians to be people of integrity. The National Assembly has amended the constitution through the First Amendment to the 1999 Constitution and enacted the 2010 electoral bill which has been signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan. While signing the Electoral Act 2010 into law, the President Goodluck Jonathan reinterated his commitment to guaranteeing the sanctity of the ballot and committed to doing all that is needed to guarantee free, fair and credible elections
5. FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE 1999 CONSTITUTION, THE 2010 ELECTORAL ACT AND THE 2011 ELECTION
The first amendment to the Constitution, the 2010 Electoral Act introduced some elements meant to refine the electoral process in Nigeria. We will examine only a few of them. The first Amendment to the 1999 Constitution provides that election should be held as provided in the electoral Act but that the elections should œhold not earlier than 150 days and not later than 120 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder of than office. The implication of this amendment is that the next election will hold not earlier than the 29th December, 2010 and not later than the 29th January, 2011.
The Electoral Act specifically provided that the elections should be held in the following order:
(a) Senate and House of Representatives;
(b) Presidential Election; and
© State Houses of Assembly and Governorship Elections.
The Electoral Act also provides for issuance of notice of elections (90 days before election); registration of voters (60 days before election); submission of list of candidates (60 days before election); withdrawal of candidates (45 days before election); notice of poll showing the day and hours for the poll, the persons entitled to vote and location of polling units (14 days before election); registration of new political parties (6 months before election); and merger of political parties (90 days before election).
The 2010 electoral act also provides for procedures for political parties conventions and congresses for the nomination of candidates. They are expected to give INEC 21 days notice. Section 87 specifically provides that political parties should hold primaries for aspirants to all elective positions to nominate candidates for elections through either direct or indirect primaries. In direct primaries, all aspirants will be given equal opportunity of being voted for by members of the party. In indirect primaries, special convention and congresses will be held in designated centres on specified dates with delegates. The delegates to the congresses and convention are to be chosen through œdemocratic election.
Moreover, the Electoral Act places a limitation on election expenses with the maximum of one billion naira for presidential election; 200 million naira for Governorship election; 40 million for Senatorial election; 20 million for House of Representatives election; 10 million for State House of Assembly election; 10 million for chairmanship election; and one million for councillorship election. The law also places a limit on individual donation to a maximum of one million.
Finally, the electoral act provides that INEC should monitor the political parties to ensure that they comply with the law.
6. MANAGING THE ELECTORAL PROCESS
With the signing into law of Electoral Act 2010, the challenge now is how to conduct the 2011 election in a way that will produce credible, free and fair elections. The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) has a lot of role to play in this regard. INEC is a permanent body created by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to organise Federal and State elections in Nigeria. The vision of INEC is that of a dynamic and formidable organization that is a major force in the continuation and furtherance of democracy in Nigeria. INEC aspires to be a widely respected and credible institution for democratic governance in the nation. The mission of INEC is to:
1. Educate Nigerian citizens about democracy and the election process.
2. provide for voter registration
3. Compile a credible voters register
4. demarcate constituency boundaries
5. Organise and conduct credible elections
6. Monitor the conduct of political parties, and
7. Promote an enduring democratic culture in Nigeria.
The principles that guide INEC in its mission and vision are:
Transparency: INEC will be open and transparent in all our activities and in our relations with the political stakeholders, media organizations, INEC service providers and the people of Nigeria.
Integrity: INEC will be truthful and honest in all our dealings with the people of Nigeria, its political stakeholders and each other.
Credibility: INEC will strive to ensure that the people of Nigeria and in particular the political stakeholders will readily accept all of our actions and activities. We will be an institution that the people can trust.
Impartiality: INEC will endeavour to create a level playing field for all political actors.
Dedication: INEC is committed to providing the highest quality election services to the people of Nigeria. We will also work to ensure that merit will continue to be the basis for compensation, promotion and recruitment of staff.
There is no doubt that INEC occupies a central place in the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria. INEC has been described as the main agent of democracy in Nigeria. Unfortunately, INEC has not performed its role and responsibilities in an efficient and effective manner in the past. This has led to the progressive degeneration of the credibility of elections in Nigeria reaching its highest apogee with the conduct of the 2007 elections. INEC has to return to its vision, mission and principles in the conduct of the 2011 and future elections. INEC must carry out scrupulously the roles assigned to it by the 1999 Constitution and the 2010 Electoral Act. We know that the right kind of leadership can turn around the fortunes of any organization. The right kind of leadership in an organization will help to influence, inspire, rally, direct, encourage, motivate and mobilize others to pursue a common goal or purpose while maintaining commitment, momentum, confidence and courage. We urge the new leadership of INEC to turn things around.
7. CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVES
Civil Society Organisations have enormous experience on the electoral process especially in terms of civic and voter education, mandate protection and monitoring of stakeholders and the electoral process. We have always argued that for credible, free and fair elections, all the stakeholders must perform their roles according to the rules of the game. CSOs expect all the stakeholders to perform their roles creditably.
EXPECTATIONS OF INEC: Since his appointment, the INEC chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega has repeatedly said that the irreducible mission of the commission is to conduct free, fair and credible elections based on a dependable and permanent Voters Register, as provided by law. We expect INEC to fulfill this pledge.
Live up to its vision, mission and principles
A competent INEC with sound management system and institutional capacity to carry out its mandate.
Financial and institutional independence of INEC
Effective information management by INEC
Control and oversight mechanism over staff, ad hoc staff and volunteers
Transparency and accountability of INEC which can be enhanced by regular reporting to the public through the media; regular meeting with political parties ,CSOs and development partners; and allowing credible CSOs and the press to observe and monitor the electoral process.
Abide by the provisions of the electoral law in the conduct of the elections.
Carry out monitoring of political parties to ensure that they comply with the electoral law and INEC guidelines and sanction political parties and candidates that breach the rules without fear or favour
Accredit reputable and credible CSOs as election observers at least one month before the election date to enable the organisations plan carefully, train the observers and deploy them appropriately. INEC must avoid the situation in the past where credible organisations like Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) and Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE) were denied accreditation while phoney CSOs and consultants were appointed to monitor and observe elections.
POLITICAL PARTIES
Political parties to perform their function of political education, recruitment
Political parties to comply with the electoral Act 2010 and INEC rules
Political parties to observe internal party democracy in line with electoral act 2010
Abide by the electoral law provision on party congresses and conventions for the nomination of candidates.
Show respect to the voters and campaign for votes based on programmes and issues and desist from the use of violence and thuggery during the elections
MEDIA
Refrain from selective reporting or reporting out of context, exaggeration or outright falsehood
Must be balanced in its coverage of the electoral process and not give undue advantage to any political party or aspirant/candidate.
SECURITY AGENCIES
The security agencies can make a difference in the outcome of elections. It is therefore important that security officers display the highest level of integrity, neutrality, professionalism and sense of duty. The protection of human life, voters, electoral materials and officials and the preservation of lawful and orderly electoral processes are necessary for credible, free and fair elections. Without adequate security, there cannot be credible, free and fair elections. In the past, the security agencies have been accused of being used by politicians to intimidate opponents and to rig elections.
The primary role of security operatives including the Police in elections is to protect the integrity of the electoral processes and of the participants, institutions and outcome through:
1. Safeguarding the security of lives and property of citizens during the elctoral process.
2. Ensuring the safety of electoral officers before, during and after elections.
3. Providing security for candidates during rallies, congresses, conventions, electioneering campaigns and elections.
4. Ensuring and preserving a free, fair, safe and lawful atmosphere for campaigning by all parties and candidates without discrimination.
5. Maintaining peaceful conditions, law and order around the polling and counting centres.
6. Providing security for electoral officials at the voting and counting centres.
7. Ensuring the security of election materials at the voting centres and during transportation.
8. Ensuring the security of all electoral material, personnel and citizens during registration of voters, update, revision and any other electoral event.
EXPECTATIONS OF SECURITY AGENCIES
They should be guided by and conform to appropriate principles, rules, code of ethics and laws governing police duties, especially in relation to crowd control and the use of force and firearms.
The security operatives should devise and use proactive methods to prevent fraud, coercion, intimidation or other manipulation or violence.
The security operatives should collect effective intelligence information throughout the campaign period and day preceding to voting in order to be able to appreciate threats to free and fair elections in different places.

CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS
Monitor the entire electoral process especially the voter registration exercise, process of nomination of candidates by political parties, campaign process and the media.
Carry out civic and voter education
Observe the election in a more comprehensive manner. CSOs should synergise and co-ordinate the deployment of observers and aim to cover more than 50 percent of the polling units.
Train citizens and communities on strategies for mandate protection
Monitor the key stakeholders including INEC, security agencies, political parties and the media.
CITIZENS
Organise themselves into groups and divide the people among the various polling units to protect their votes.
Follow the electoral process closely, studying the new electoral laws and guidelines by INEC and political parties.
Desist from collecting money from the candidates and engage them on why they are offering themselves for elective positions and what they will give to the electorate.
Identify opponents and allies of credible, free and fair elections and the decision makers, policy makers and security officials with the power to solve a particular problem.
Utilise cell phones, newspapers, radio and the internet in making people aware of the issues in the electoral process
Mobilise the whole community to protect their votes
Link up with other groups and organisations that can be of support in protecting their mandate

CONCLUSION
Nigeria is a critical juncture in its political history. The country has been bedevilled with poor political leadership partly as a result of flawed elections. The electoral standards which contribute to uniformity, reliability, consistency, accuracy and overall professionalism in elections have been abandoned in previous elections in Nigeria. But there is now a real possibility to conduct credible, free and fair elections in Nigeria with the new electoral law and a credible, respected and radical leadership of INEC. INEC has a responsibility to rise up to the challenge by keeping faith with its vision, mission and principles. In addition, all stakeholders including citizens must perform their roles to make this happen.

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