The Inaugurated Electoral Reform Committee

On Tuesday, October 4, 2016, the Federal Government inaugurated a 24-member on constitution and electoral reform.

Abubakar Malami, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, on behalf of President Muhammadu Buhari, inaugurated the committee, headed by Ken Nnamani.
Nnamani, a former president of the Senate (number three in the country’s political hierarchy) along other notable Nigerians named as members of the committee, is expected to bring his wealth of experience to bear in their assigned task.

Inaugurating the committee, Malami recalled President Buhari’s inauguration speech in which he stated his desire to deepen the country’s democracy and entrench the culture of an enduring electoral system.

“It is important to evaluate our democratic journey thus far with a view to fashioning out a more enduring system that will serve present and future generations.”

According to the minister, recent judicial decisions have also made it imperative to scale up confidence in the nation’s electoral system.

Malami also made reference to Justice Mohammed Mahmoud, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, who recently decried widespread conflicting judgments in cases relating to elections. He equally bemoaned a situation where electoral officials were killed or kidnapped and where politicians make the environment for elections a war theatre.

These, in the Federal Government’s view, had forced the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to seek extra security measures to protect its officials and ad hoc staffs, a development that calls for bold legal, legislative and institutional action.

The electoral reform committee would therefore be expected to look into possible amendments to the Constitution and Electoral Act and come out with a generally acceptable electoral system. The committee is advised to take a holistic look at the recommendations of Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Committee and consult far and wide and in particular with National Assembly and judiciary in order to make recommendations that would stand the test of time.
In specific terms, the new committee is expected to review recent judicial decisions on election petitions as they relate to conflicting judgments and absence of consequential orders, as well as review the laws impacting elections in Nigeria, including relevant provision of the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2012(as amended) and assess their impact and adequacy for the administration of elections in Nigeria.

Nnamani, the chairman, has expressed the belief that their work would enhance democratic structure in Nigeria.

“The issue of inconclusive election in the country affects national election which leads to loss of lives and the best way to handle it is to stop inconclusive election. The best way to stop it in advance is to support the government in implementing what will make Nigeria have a non-violence election,” Nnamani said.

Although the view has been expressed in some quarters that the committee is another waste of time and resources, given the fact that the recommendations of Justice Uwais Reform Committee, dealt extensively on how to tackle election malaise in Nigeria, it must be pointed out that new issues may have arisen which were not foreseen or captured in the Justice Uwais’ report.

For example, in the Kogi governorship election, INEC ran into a legal dilemma following the death of Abubakar Audu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who was leading in the election as the results were being collated.

In the just concluded Edo gubernatorial elections, the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) reported complaints about inducement of voters with cash.

“We condemn the pathetic, sorrowful and ignoble act as it is our considered view that when people sell their votes, they become slaves to those who bought it, they surrender their power and strength as citizens and they are robbed of the moral right to hold the politicians accountable or question any wrong doing by the politicians.
“Voters should freely exercise their franchise without undue interference or inducement by the politicians. Votes should be based on trust on the candidates to deliver on electoral promises and party manifestoes rather than how much money a political party or candidate can offer on Election Day.”

It is against this background that the Ken Nnamani committee is welcomed to critically examining these issues and come up with strong recommendations to move the country forward.

It must also be pointed out that over years, there has been lack of sanctions for perpetrators of electoral offences just as election financing has been and remains a subject of corruption. The reform must find a way around this.
More importantly, we advocate that the independence of the electoral body should, this time, be taken very seriously. In the Uwais’ report, it was recommended that the powers to appoint INEC chairman be removed from the presidency and be vested in the National Judicial Council (NJC). We believe this is the way to go.