In this post we will be looking at the meaning of Electoral malpractice, overview and causes of electoral malpractice in Nigeria since 1999, effects of electoral malpractice on Nigeria’s democracy.
INTRODUCTION
The major challenge of Nigeria’s democratic process is electoral malpractice. Electrical malpractices are usually committed by the politicians with the connivance of political parties, national electoral body, security agencies etc. This collaboration often supports manipulation of electrical results for selfish interest. Electoral process in many respects can be seen as the lynchpin of democracy as it plays a key role in safeguarding the quality of elections in a democratic state.
Read: Local Content/ NCDMB (NOGIC) Certificate
Democracy involves far more than holding of free and fair elections, yet if credible election is not a sufficient condition for democracy, they nevertheless remain a condition for any country to be considered democratic. The Nigerian state is a victim of high-level corruption, bad governance, political instability and a cyclical legitimacy crisis. National economic growth is retarded and the political environment is uncertain. The countries authoritarian leadership faces a legitimacy crisis and political intrigues in an ethnically different polity where ethnic competition for resources drove much of the pervasive corruption and oligarchy thereby creating a room for political gladiators to constantly manipulate the people and political process to advance their own selfish agenda.
While the country remains pauperized and people wallowing in abject poverty thus, obstructing political and economic stability and its growth as well, this constantly leads to weak legitimacy as the citizens lack faith in their political leaders and as to the political system/structure.
Political culture was and is still low since the people perceived it as irrelevant to their lives and in the absence of support from the civil society, the effective power of government was eroded and the patron client relationship became the order of the day in time took a prime role over the formal aspect of politics such as the rule of law well-functioning political party and credible electoral systems. In other to break this and bring back censured good governance, accountability and transparency must be guaranteed which in turn would promote political and economic growth of Nigeria.
Read: Business/ Company Registration in Nigeria
The history of Nigeria painted with the absence of moral and ethnic values in the conduct of ruling elites that has adversely affect political and economic growth because it gives the people the feeling of less security and bias judgement over the social structure or system. As corruption ‘impacts negatively on economic growth, it is also politically destabilizing, corruption and abuse of power have long been features of Nigeria’s economic and political landscape.
The National Planning Committee has identified systematic corruption which engenders low level of transparency and accountability as the major source of failure. Scholars have described Nigeria as an unfinished state (Joseph et al 1996) and as truculent African in the midst of abundant human material resources which are propelled in virtuous cycle of poverty and autocracy.
With enormous wealth, from oil resources and enormous economic, political and social strength, Nigeria was qualified to be called Giant of Africa and Nigeria was brought to its knees by twenty years of corrupt military leadership, which left a legacy of executive dominance and political corruption in this hand of the so-called God father and thus governance was viewed as an instrument of their enrichment. Nigeria elections have become, the ‘menu of manipulation’.
Since 1999 the outcomes of elections in the country have scarcely reflected the will of the voters owing to an avalanche of electoral malpractices. This nagging political phenomenon cast doubts on the evolution of a viable democracy in Nigeria. Indeed, the vast cache of misdemeanors in governance in Nigeria is a mockery of democracy and a parody of what democracy represents. This arises from the precipitating consequences of electoral fraud on the quality of democracy in the country.
WHAT IS ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE?
Electoral malpractice generally refers to an instance where acceptable norms and principles that confer credibility on elections are desecrated; and in their place duplicity, falsehood, manipulation and cheating by any means are deployed to sway the outcome of elections. electoral malpractice is defined as ‘illegalities committed by government; officials responsible for the conduct of elections, political parties, groups or individuals with sinister intention to influence an election in favour of a candidate(s)’ electoral corruption is divided into three categories.
Read: Pipeline Construction Services
They are malpractices that relate to the legal framework, malpractice related to preference formation, and malpractices centered on electoral administration. Electoral malpractice in any form is anathema to democracy because of its retrogressive effect on the quality of democracy in a country. As a corollary, electoral malpractices are not condoned anywhere in the world but rather censured. Abhorrence of electoral malpractice is necessary.
If malpractices such as winning elections through rigging, massive use of money, use of violence against political adversaries and so on are unbridled, the tendency is for a negative culture of ‘political larceny’ to be inculcated by politicians. This ultimately dilutes the potency of elections as a means of peaceful transfer of political power and as a tool to legitimize political power.
OVERVIEW OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE IN NIGERIA SINCE 1999
Electoral malpractice, often referred to as electoral fraud or vote rigging is any alteration or change of vote count in an election. It is also a process by which the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of elections are manipulated to favor specific interests. Nigeria has conducted six nationwide elections (1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019) since the re-emergence of democracy in the Fourth Republic.
After decades of military rule, the elections that ushered in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic were organized in a relatively peaceful manner without systematic rigging as the country was transitioning from an authoritarian to a civil regime. This is not to say that the 1999 elections were devoid of electoral malpractices and corruption. Election observers reported late commencement of polling, late arrival of election materials, missing names of eligible voters in the register, early closure of voting at some polling units, voting during legally unstipulated hours and bribing of voters.
Read: NCEC Certificate Registration
The 2003 election was the first election to be conducted by a civilian government. This was the litmus test for Nigeria’s democracy as the 1999 elections were conducted by the military regime. The Conduct of the 2003 polls was far from transparent and credible elections. European Union (EU) observers of the election reported that:
“Though the ballot box was full by midday, only 85 names on the list of 743 registered voters were ticked on the register. At a third polling station, 50 cast ballots were suspiciously folded in the same way, and the first 50 names on the voter list were ticked in alphabetical order’’. The display of electoral malpractice in the 2003 polls gave the impression that there was a deliberate attempt by the ruling party to retain power by all means. Nigerians went to the poll again in 2007 to elect another set of leaders.
The 2007 elections turned out to be the most discredited in Nigeria’s electoral history. The International Crisis Group described 2007 polls as ‘failed elections’ and the African Confidential in its 2007 May publication stated that ‘’the 2007 polls were a troubled transition from civilian-to-civilian regime’’. The 2007 elections were marred with unimaginable kinds of physical violence.
Violence and all forms of electoral malpractice are contributory factors to the decreasing turnout of accredited voters in past elections. According to data released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), only 43.65% (29,432,083) out of 67,422,005 registered voters, voted in the 2015 presidential election and a decreasing 35.66% (28,614,190) out of 82,344,107 registered voters turned out to vote in the 2019 presidential elections.
Read: Oil and Gas Permits/ Licenses to Know
The trajectories of elections in Nigeria highlights a worrisome trend characterized by intimidation of voters, partisanship by electoral offices, under-aged voting and impersonation, diversion of electoral materials and theft of ballot boxes. Nigeria is still yet to reform its electoral laws. As a result, this has hampered the adoption of alternative approaches and strategies to checkmate this ugly trend in our nation.
EFFECTS OF ELECTORAL MALPRACTICE ON NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY.
Electoral malpractice is counterproductive to the entire process of choosing credible leaders who can represent the people and the interest of the nation. The effects of this menace cannot be overemphasized. They are pervasive and with time they become generational if not properly curbed. In recent times, electoral malpractice has discouraged the political participation of citizens.
This was evident in the 2019 and 2023 elections where most voters who turned out for the presidential election refused to turn out for the gubernatorial election based on the reason that their votes were neither counted nor included during the collation of results due to vote rigging and other forms of electoral malpractice. Electoral malpractice has enhanced the enthronement of leaders that lack accountability, integrity and responsibility in various levels of public offices in Nigeria. This has affected the quality of leadership and governance in our nation.
As a result, Nigeria is still battling with the challenges of bad leadership, poor governance and corruption. These issues have adversely affected social transformation, economic advancement and national development. Furthermore, electoral malpractice leads to violence, chaos, anarchy and unrest. This has been the trend in most of our elections since 1999. As a result, several people have lost their lives and valuable properties have been destroyed.
In most cases, the perpetrators of these heinous crimes are neither brought to book nor made to face the wrath of the law due to their affiliation to godfathers and corrupt politicians. Although this trend has persisted for decades, there is need to change the narrative so our nation can attain national development in all aspects of governance.
Read: NipeX Registration & Requirements
Strategies and Solutions
- The task of conducting free and fair elections is not just the responsibility of the federal government rather it is a collective responsibility of every Nigerian citizen. There is a great need for us to believe in our nation so we can contribute to its development. This can be achieved when we embrace the stakeholder mentality with an understanding that the success or failure of our nation is a responsibility that comes with pleasant or unpleasant outcomes. As such, there is need for every Nigerian to have a stakeholder mentality when it comes to issues of national interest such as the conduct of free and fair elections.
- Electoral malpractice can also be tackled through proper sensitization, mobilization and education of the citizenry on their voting rights and voting rules during elections. Poor enlightenment of citizens is a major contributing factor to the cancellation of wrongly casted ballots. There is need for effective collaboration between Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Societies and the Private Sector so as to provide voter education and sensitization for every citizen within the voting age of 18 years and above
- Other strategies for curbing this trend include, the provision of a well-coordinated and non-partisan security personnel, INEC officials’ adoption of a practicable legal framework which includes legal reforms and electoral forms, the political will to implement recommended action plans, use of electronic voting, proper funding and adequate training of election staff.
CONCLUTION
There is no refutation of the fact that the conduct of free and fair elections marks a watershed in a country’s march to democratic consolidation, despite the concomitant socio-political hiccups that often characterize the process of democratization. Elections in Nigeria since 1999 have continually been a charade, given the avalanche of fraudulent electoral practices discussed above.
Read: Oil and Gas Consultancy Services
However, the minimal improvements observed in the 2011 and 2015 elections are indications that the conduct of credible elections in Nigeria is possible if the required reforms are made, especially with regard to INEC and the reorientation of the mind-set of Nigerians towards elections. Democracy is meaningful only when a society is able to accept or reject the people who want to govern it. That acceptance or rejection can become realistic only through elections.
That is why the holding of elections is inescapable in liberal democracies. To overcome the encumbrances impinging on the conduct of free and fair elections in Nigeria through the monster of electoral malpractice, the country must take resolute steps to overhaul the entire electoral process. Nigerians’ attitudes towards elections must be repositioned to attenuate for past failures that have left them in a state of political angst. First, it is clear from the various reports on elections in Nigeria that elections are usually rigged during the collation of election results.
To curtail the manipulation of results at collation centers, INEC should seek collaboration with established and reputable civil society organizations in Nigeria such as the Transition Monitoring Group, Electoral Reform Network, Alliance for Credible Elections and Transparency International in Nigeria – to prop up the observation and monitoring of polling on election days. This will help to dispel aspirant rigging agents, whether officials of the INEC or party agents. Second, to overcome institutional deficiencies, INEC should through the National Assembly seek more institutional powers and financial independence from the executive, so the Commission’s Chairman can gain the powers to appoint Resident Electoral Commissioners with the approval of the National Assembly.
This would ensure the INEC is truly independent. Third, the penalties for electoral misconduct and malpractices, as contained in the 1999 Constitution and the Amended Electoral Act 2011, should be strictly applied by both INEC and the judiciary. Culprits of electoral fraud must be punished in line with the provisions of the laws. Fourth, the extensive negative use of money in elections should be curtailed by strictly regulating the finances of political parties and politicians. Finally, it is important to check violence during elections by addressing its root causes.
Read: Nigerian Upstream Sector Opportunities
For instance, macro measures – such as tackling unemployment by creating job opportunities through reformation of the agricultural sector and improving electricity supply – would help to reduce youth involvement in election-related violence. If the magnitude of electoral malpractice that has occurred during polls in Nigeria does not decline in subsequent elections, democratic consolidation in the country might as well have been deferred to a later epoch in political history.
The determination of the era when elections will reflect the wishes of Nigerians depends absolutely on the hindsight of major stakeholders in Nigeria’s electoral process. The government, INEC, political parties and the Nigerian electorate must recognize the exigency to fortify democracy in the country and assiduously work towards it.