A coalition of civil societies and public institutions on Tuesday called for broad electoral reforms including increased use of technology in elections and lowering political parties’ nomination fees ahead of the 2027 general elections and beyond.
They made the calls in Abuja during a national multi-stakeholder coordination forum on electoral reforms organised by the Youth Electoral Reform Project (YERP-Naija).
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Others who took part in the forum included the representatives of the media, Yiaga Africa, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the National Orientation Agency (NOA).
The chairperson of NBA Electoral Reform Committee, Monday Ubani, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), called for the compulsory use of the Bi-Modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) technology to increase the integrity of the electoral process in a Nigerian election.
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Mr Ubani, who made remarks during a panel discussion, also recommended holding all elections in one day.
For post-election litigation, he proposed the amendment of the law to allow reliance on documentary evidence instead of oral evidence. In that regard, he called for the removal of the ambiguity in Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022, which supports documentary evidence.
Section 137 of the Electoral Act, 2022 states that “It shall not be necessary for a party who alleges non-compliance if originals or certified true copies manifestly disclose the non-compliance alleged.”
Exorbitant nomination fees
Mr Ubani also urged that there should be more transparency, integrity, and involvement of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) in primary elections and the reduction of nomination fees.
He argued that the nomination fee for contesting political positions was too expensive for the youths, hindering inclusiveness in governance.
Nomination fees vary across political parties. A 2022 opinion article published by PREMIUM TIMES demonstrated how high costs on nomination forms contributed to reducing political participation of citizens.
Similarly, Executive Director, J-DEV, Zigwai Ayuba, pointed out that Nigerians needed to start paying attention to the cost of running for political offices.
“One important conversation we need to talk about is the cost, as we pay attention to the reforms, they are putting effort into recovering it (the cost of election) when they come into power.”
YERP-Naija coordinator representing South-west, Abimbola Aladejare-Salako, lamented misinformation on social media, deployment of youths by political parties as tools to achieve their personal interests as opposed to being stakeholders. But she assured her audience that the challenges are not insurmountable.
She urged that electoral disputes should end in court before swearing-in.
In August, the chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on the INEC, Adebayo Balogun, announced that a bill seeking the reduction in election litigation timelines had passed second reading.
Earlier in July, Mr Balogun told PREMIUM TIMES that the electoral reforms in the National Assembly were targeted at expanding inclusion, strengthening internal democracy, and enhancing public confidence
NBA president, Afam Osigwe, who delivered the keynote address, urged that law enforcement officers, especially the Nigerian police, should protect electoral integrity instead of enabling misconduct.
He referenced the last Ghanaian elections held in December, which he hailed as well organised, credible, transparent, free, fair and worthy of emulation by Nigeria.
“The collation of results was organised; you see everything is transparent,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES also published an article on 10 lessons Nigeria can learn from Ghana’s electoral process.
Backing recommendations with civic actions
Other recommendations included a call by a representative of YIAGA Africa, Anthonia Onda, for early voting by those deployed to work during elections to protect their right and inclusiveness of the voting process.
Mr Akah, the youth and electoral reform advocate, said recommendations must “be backed by actions by Nigerians” to achieve results.
Deputy Director, PLAC, Omolara Akinyeye, emphasised strategic actions driven by knowledge.
YERP Naija disclosed that it would hold one-on-one meetings with relevant members of the National Assembly, chairpersons of the conference of speakers of state Houses of Assembly, press conferences, multi-stakeholder forums throughout October and joint advocacy before the conclusion of the ongoing electoral reform process.
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The Head of Research and Strategy, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), Oluwafemi Adebayo, said Tuesday’s forum was the third phase of YERP-Naija’s project aimed at reforming the Nigerian electoral system.
The first and second phases involved youth engagement and one-on-one discussions in which 171 legislators pledged their support for the group’s priorities.
YERP-Naija is a youth-led coalition of Nigerian civil society organisations and activists that advocates for electoral reforms. It is led by a team of coordinators from different zones of the country: Bukola Idowu (National and North-central), Zigwai Ayuba (North-west), Ashraf Tukur (North-east), Abimbola Aladejare-Salako (South-West), Nonso Orakwe (South-east), and Israel Orekha (South-south).
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