Nigeria s elections so far have not live up to expectations due to various forms of electoral manipulations which have denied the country credible free and fair elections in her body politic. Problems the management of electoral system in nigeria has had the following problems. There have been a number of alterations of the register aimed at cleaning up the lists, but without any audit trail to show what changes were made, and under what authority. It, however, represents a major attempt to confront the problems which seem to. Secondly, the federal system in nigeria is terribly awkward and not functioning. The first tier is the federal level, the second is state level there are 36 states and a federal capital territory fct and the third tier of government consists of 774 local government areas. An alternative method to conduct its election was used. Nigerias elections so far have not live up to expectations due to various forms of electoral manipulations which have denied the country credible free and fair. Nigerias 2019 elections united states institute of peace. English law from background with britain common law customary law, based on tradition and indigenous practices sharia law, used in the northern part.
The international idea handbook of electoral system design. Pdf the electoral process and democratic consolidation in nigeria. Nigeria has a threetiered federal system of government, with a bicameral legislature. Emerging trends and challenges of electoral democracy in.
The plethora of cases emanating from the 2015 elections demands for total electronic voting system as the only panacea for credible, free and fair election in nigeria. Pdf the electoral process and democratic consolidation. Following independence, nigerias democratic dispensation was challenged by persistent military coups. The consent of the people is usually given through a free. The nigerian electoral process in perspective elections under colonial rule before independence in 1960, nigeria, which existed as an amalgamation of the. Independent national electoral commission wikipedia. The choice of electoral system is one of the most important institutional decisions for any democracy. Towards free and fair elections this paper has basically looked at free and fair elections in nigeria with specific focus on kogi state from functional perspective of political mobilization and education, the conduct of party primaries for the purpose of instilling confidence in the electoral process as well as the fairness of interparty contest. Effectively, the 1922 clifford constitution paved the way for the very first electoral system in nigeria. Electoral system 1 a system of forming elected above all, representative bodies of the state for example, in the ussr, the soviets of working peoples deputies. Breaking the cycle of electoral violence in nigeria united states. Although, it was reported that nigeria is yet to meet up with international standard for the provision of viable, successful and generally accepted electoral system of democracy due to lack of full implementation of the required electronic voting system in the county that entails combining electronic voters register and smart card readers with.
Since then nigeria has experienced uninterrupted civilian rule. By an act of the british parliament, nigeria became an independent country within the commonwealth on october 1, 1960. The act is not the first of its kind in the electoral history of nigeria. Election, electoral violence, political violence, democracy, nigeria. The current voting system in nigeria has many security holes such as failure of card reader among others. The origin of the inec goes back to the period before independence when the electoral commission of nigeria was established to conduct 1959 elections. Apart from being free and fair, transparency is a vital feature of any election.
A breakthrough came in 1999 when a new constitution was adopted, and a civilian government was subsequently formed. In the political debate regarding electoral system, especially in those countries with less. The proposed adoption of evoting in nigeria by the electoral body. This paper provides an overview on the past technologies being adopted for voting in nigeria since 19992019 and proposed an adoption of an ovsin. But be that as it may, one can boldly claim that the nigerian electoral system has continued to improve from what it was in 1999 when the country returned to civil rule. In 2015, elections brought about the first peaceful transfer of power to africas most populous country, nigeria, but also led to mass civil unrest and instability in burundi. To conduct and supervise national assembly and local government elections and referenda and ensure that they are free and fair, delimit constituencies, register voters and create a voters roll, promote knowledge of electoral processes, register political parties and adjudicate disputes. This is a particularly important moment in africas history. Electoral rigging in nigeria is the illegal manipulation of election procedures through fraud related to ballot fixing and connivance between electoral officials.
The federal electoral commission fedeco, established in 1960 conducted the immediate postindependence. Finally, students were asked to explain why nigerias federal structure has failed to resolve tensions in the niger river delta. Elections in nigeria are forms of choosing representatives to the nigerian federal government and the various states in the fourth republic nigeria. The nigerian electoral system electoral systems and. This paper however concludes with recommendations of policy options to remedy the menace of electoral violence in nigeria. The nigerian election is a means of choosing and electing choice representatives to the nigerian federal government and the various states in nigeria. Electoral violence in the first republic of nigerias civil democratic realities showcases a nation in absolute hostage situation. It is regulated by legal norms that, taken as a whole, form electoral law and the electoral right.
Nigerias elections so far have not live up to expectations due to various forms of electoral manipulations which have denied the country credible free and fair elections in her body politic. Additionally, countries with a history of electoral violence often experience a recurrence of such violence, as has been witnessed in kenya, nigeria, and zimbabwe. Nigeria, election crisis, state formation, dominant class introduction. Candidates vying for the legislative council position are required to have a minimum annual income of 100 pounds. Pdf the state and election administration in nigeria. During the electoral processes, nigerians a representative to the office. The impact of ict in the conduct of elections in nigeria. The simulation and the associated results are not included in this paper. Democracy and electoral process in nigeria politics essay. Nigeria in need of electronic voting system vanguard news. The international institution for democracy and electoral assistance idea cited in nwafure. Nigeria presidential and national assembly elections. The role of elections in emerging democracies and postconflict countries key issues, lessons learned and dilemmas elections have become a major factor in the stabilisation and democratisation of emerging democracies and postconflict countries. From the 1950s, elections in nigeria approximated a war wage to determine who get.
Through this means, the sovereignty of the peoples mandate is enthroned. This committee organizes the preelection run, controls all the conditions of this period, and prepares everything needed for the voting process, etc. This law library of congress report analyzes electoral law in nigeria, particularly the. The independent national electoral commission inec is an institution empowered by the 1999 constitution to conduct election in nigeria, as an umpire the institution is supposed to be truly independent in other to conduct a free and fair election, the commission over the years as shown to the public that is not capable of conducting a free and. It concentrates all powers at the centre, and makes election a zero some competition. The yorubadominated ag became the opposition, under its charismatic leader, chief obafemi awolowo. In the late 1990s, the agency began modernizing its information technology infrastructure by migrating from an outdated legacy voting system heavily dependent on inaccurate paper records and. The theoretical framework for the study is cultural relativism. Elections, electoral process and the challenges of democratization in nigerias fourth republic the most widely praised as the best system of government in our contemporary world is democracy, which allows for high level of peoples participation in decisionmaking and policy formulation through representatives. The electoral act 2006 was designed to address the several problems of the nigerian electoral system identified in the preceding section. Nigeria obviously had been experiencing a high level of thuggery, insecurity and violence, less participation in its electoral processes. Nigerias capacity and political will to conduct free, fair, and peaceful elections. The essence of this article is to provide insight into the types of the election in nigeria and the electoral system operated. Electoral commission came up with election guidelines to ensure free, and fair and nonviolent elections by the 22 million registered voters of nigeria s 55.
Finally, students were asked to explain why nigeria s federal structure has failed to resolve tensions in the niger river delta. Nigeria as a country has had her share of democratic structure. Itbased solutions to the electoral system in nigeria. A political system consists of the formal and informal structures which manifest the states sovereignty over a territory and people. Nigerians elects on the federal level a head of state the president of nigeria and a legislature the national assembly. Consequently, while recognizing the practical constraints, we attempt to approach the issue of electoral system choices discussed in this handbook in as broad and comprehensive a manner as possible. According to the justice uwais led electoral reform committee free and fair elections are. In order to have an election devoid of intimidation and malpractices, the board responsible for conducting free and fair election in nigeria decided to introduce a card reader technology to enhance speedy and accurate electoral process. Electoral system definition of electoral system by the. Describing the nigerian electoral system there is a specialized committee responsible for the elections each time an election is held in the country. In 1963 nigeria became a republic within the commonwealth.
By the indirect electoral system, adult males in each village chose a. The independent national electoral commission inec is a nonpartisan nigerian government agency charged with the conduct and supervision of elections. Pdf developed automated electoral system algorithm using. Electoral commission came up with election guidelines to ensure free, and fair. We estimated that 370,000 ad hoc staff is needed to successfully implement and use this system, on election day, to conduct a free and fair election.
A semi automated electoral system was developed to eliminate the various electoral frauds often associated with the process in nigeria. Improving the nigerian electoral system vanguard news. The dialogue was organized as a partnership event, under the overall stewardship of the department of political. As a mechanism of democratic transition of government, the secret ballot box system has been preferable to the open ballot system in nigeria. Herskovits 1979, nigeria rejected britains parliamentary form of democracy which they had continued after independence in 1960 and chose the first wholly nigerianmade constitution, to follow the american model instead.
This is after a period of military rule in the past. The choice of a particular electoral system has a profound effect on the future political life of the country concerned, and electoral systems, once chosen, often remain fairly constant as political interests solidify around and respond to the incentives presented by them. Winners may be determined by a plurality, a majority more than 50% of the vote, an extraordinary majority a percentage of the vote greater than 50%, or unanimity. Ballot boxes were designed to bear the symbols of each party in the elections scheduled for 30 december 1964 into the 312 seat house of representatives. Free and fair election therfore has become a difficult task in nigeria. Historical background to electoral violence in nigeria in the words of alanamu 2005, the history of violence in nigeria politics dates back to colonial era. The electoral system is an important element in the political system of a state. The change in status called for no practical alteration of the constitutional system. The card readers and election credibility in nigeria.
Statistical analysis of the register has shown wide discrepancies between the. Electoral system article about electoral system by the. Electoral frameworks, including the choice of electoral system and the design of electoral administration, determine both the outcomes and the credibility of electoral processes and thereby trust in democracy. The development of professional electoral administration is not merely a technical and managerial. The regional dialogue on emerging trends and challenges of electoral democracy in africa was held over two days 2526 may 2016 in abuja, nigeria. In an attempt at distinguishing a state from the political system, rummel r. Thus, in nigeria, he who loses an election loses everything and must fight back. The system took into account the level of infrastructure, literacy and size of the population of registered voters 77 million2011 general election and the various problems that confronted the independent. Electoral reforms and democratic consolidation in nigeria. More than a dozen such elections will take place in 2010 and early 2011. The role of elections in emerging democracies and post. This automated electoral system was designed in accordance with nigeria electoral laws and topographical data. Incidence of electoral violence in nigeria the incidence of electoral violence in nigeria is as plethora as they are intimidating.
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