Anti-corruption provisions in Nigeria’s electoral laws
It’s season of politics and it is important to continue to
enlighten different actors and stakeholders in the electoral process on what
the legal regime says. There are several legal provisions guiding election in
Nigeria. They include the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,
as amended; the Electoral Act 2022 and the Guidelines, Handbooks, Manuals, as
well as Codes issued by the Electoral Management Bodies, i.e. the Independent
National Electoral Commission (in accordance with section 148 of the E.A. 2022)
and the 36 State Independent Electoral Commissions. There are also international covenants,
protocols and conventions such as those of ECOWAS, African Union and United
Nations. Each political parties also have their constitutions and electoral
guidelines.
There are a number of sunshine provisions in the country’s
electoral laws. By that I mean anti-corruption provisions. These provisions are
to be found in the Nigerian Constitution, Electoral Act and Electoral
Guidelines. Take for instance section 225 (1) of the 1999 CFRN, as amended; It
says political parties shall submit to the INEC and publish a statement of its
assets and liabilities. S. 225 (2) says, “Every political parties shall submit
to INEC a detailed annual statement and analysis of its sources of funds and
other assets together with a similar statement of its expenditure in such form as
the Commission may require.”
225 (3) says, “No political party shall – (a) hold or possess
any funds or other assets outside Nigeria; or (b) be entitled to retain any
funds or assets remitted or sent to it from outside Nigeria.” The penalty for
flouting this section is in the succeeding S. 225 (4) of the Constitution. It
states that any such funds remitted or sent to political parties from outside
Nigeria shall be paid over or transferred to the Commission within 21 days of
its receipt….”. Sub. 5 says, “The Commission shall have power to give
directions to political parties regarding the books or records of financial
transactions which they shall keep and to examine all such books and records.”
Section 226 of the CFRN, as amended, is also an
anti-corruption provision. Sub 1 says, “The INEC shall in every year prepare
and submit to the National Assembly a report on the accounts and balance sheet
of each political party. Of importance to this discussion is also the provision
of S. 228 (b) of the Constitution. It says, “The National Assembly may by law
provide – the conferment on the Independent National Electoral Commission of
powers as may appear for the National Assembly to be necessary or desirable for
the purpose of enabling the Commission more effectively to ensure that
political parties observe the practices of internal democracy, including the
fair and transparent conduct of party primaries, party congresses and party
conventions.”
Away from the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2022 also have
copious provisions aimed at checkmating electoral corruption. The entire gamut
of infusing technology or having electronic voting system namely biometric voters’
registration, voters’ authentication using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation
System, electronic voting and electronic transmission of results are meant to
ensure that election results reflects voters choices. For references, see the
following sections of the E.A 2022 (Voters Registration (section 9(2), Voter
Authentication (section 47(2), Balloting (section 41(1), Vote Collation
(section 60(5) and Vote Transmission (section 50(2).
It can be reasonably argued that Section 62 (2) of the
Electoral Act 2022 is also an anti-corruption provision. It provided for the
National Electronic Register of Election Results. It states thus: “The
Commission shall compile, maintain and update, on a continuous basis, a
register of election results to be known as the National Electronic Register of
Election Results which shall be a distinct database or repository of polling
unit by polling unit results, including collated election results, of each election
conducted by the Commission in the Federation, and the Register of Election
Results shall be kept in electronic format by the Commission at its national
headquarters.
Section 3(3) of the new Act which stipulated that “The
election funds due to the Commission for any general elections are to be
released to the Commission not later than one year before the next general
election” can also be extrapolated as anti-corruption provision. It will ensure
that INEC is well resourced and is not impeded by funds in its electoral
planning.
The fact that INEC can now review any wrong declaration made
by Returning Officer within seven days of the act being committed as stipulated
in section 65(1) of E.A 2022 is to ensure the integrity of the election result.
Also noteworthy as an anti-corruption measure is the recognition by E.A. 2022
of appointment of Polling Agents (S. 43(1). The Polling Agents, otherwise known
as Party Agents, have enormous powers to follow through the distribution of
election materials and personnel, observation of the voting process and even
sorting, counting and announcement of election results as well as the watching
of the collation process.
In fact, S. 48 of the
E.A. 2022 says, “A candidate or a Polling Agent may challenge the right of a person
to vote on such grounds and in accordance with such procedures as are provided
for in this Act.”. In order to also counter electoral fraud, Section 61 of the
Act says, “A candidate or a polling agent may, where present at a polling unit
when counting of votes is completed by the presiding officer, demand to have
the votes recounted provided that the presiding officer shall cause the votes
to be so recounted only once.”
To ensure clean election, the Electoral Act 2022 has
provisions against bribery and vote buying. These are contained in sections 121
and 127, Provision of s. 90 (1) is also very instructive. It says “A political
party shall not accept or keep in its possession any anonymous monetary or
other contributions, gifts or property, from any source.” Section 95 (2) is
also germane to this discussion. It says “(2) State apparatus including the
media shall not be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political
party or candidate at any election.”
Unfortunately, in reality, this provision is observed in breach. Many of
the contesting political office holders are using state resources such as time,
personnel, vehicles, media and even money to campaign.
Limitations on election expenses as stipulated in Section 88
of the E.A 2022 are part of the attempts to control the influence of money in
Nigeria’s electoral process. However, this provision too is flagrantly flouted
by the political contestants.
Outside of the two aforementioned legal frameworks,
international conventions permit the accreditation of national and
international election observer groups and journalists. They add to electoral
integrity as their reports go a long way in assessing the credibility or
otherwise of the elections. On the part of INEC, part of the regulations and
guidelines are that voters are not allowed to bring their mobile phones or
camera into the Polling Booth. This is to keep secrecy of ballot and frustrate
those who take pictures of their ballot papers in order to go and collect money
from Party Agents.
Irrespective of these copious legal provisions, Nigeria’s
election remains one of the most expensive in the world given the
commercialisation of the electoral process by desperate politicians who corrupt
the process starting with inducement of party delegates during party primaries
and vote buying during the general election. Given these flagrant abuse of the
electoral process, both the election management bodies (INEC and SIECs) as well
as anticorruption agencies have the onerous task of finding lasting solution to
this menace.
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