Date Published: 06/15/09

MAKING ELECTIONS FREE AND FAIR IN NIGERIA: A SECOND LOOK AT THE REPORT OF THE UWAIS ELECTORAL REFORMS COMMITTEE

BY PROF. GRACE A. ALELE – WILLIAMS, OFR

Let me start by thanking the organisers of this forum for inviting me to rub minds with you on the recommendations of the Electoral Reforms Committee of which I was privileged to be a member. You would recollect that the Committee duly discharged its assignment and submitted its report to President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. The president has since made known to the public those aspects of the report that were accepted by the government and those that were not accepted.

Let me however say that in making our recommendations, we were guided by a combination of the following:

There is no doubt that you have read parts of the recommendations of the Committee in the mass media. You have also read that the president accepted some of our recommendations and rejected some others too. The fact remains that Mr. President commissioned the Committee and has all the rights to accept or reject any of our recommendations.

Because of time constraint, we cannot discuss all the recommendations of the Committee at this forum. However, we shall take a look at some areas of the Committee’s recommendations that were considered as absolutely necessary for the emergence of free and fair elections in the country.

Elections in Nigeria

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Analysis of elections in the country showed that the 2007 elections were the worst in the history of elections in the country. Nigerians were generally not happy with the outcome of the elections, the international community was not happy either. However, in response to the local and international criticisms of the elections, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua gave an assurance that he would institute a Committee that would look into how to improve electioneering campaigns and the conduct of elections in the country with a view to making them more free and fair.

In answering Mr. President’s call to duty, the committee members were eager to see the emergence of free and fair elections in the country and well accepted by Nigerians. This informed all of the recommendations of the committee. What I have done is to bring out the summaries of some of the major recommendations of the committee with a view to throwing light on what informed some of the recommendations of the committee for better understanding of the audience.

Terms of Reference

The Committee’s Terms of Reference were as follows:

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has received a lot of knocks from Nigerians and the international audience for their handling of the elections in the country. Perhaps, the proliferation of cases in the tribunals even at mid-term is an indication that something is wrong with the organisation that conducted the elections. There is a general belief that INEC is shouldering too many responsibilities and that many of its unnecessary loads should be taken off it.

The Committee recommended that INEC should be “re-organised and re-positioned to ensure its independence and professionalism in the conduct of elections in the country.” Consequently, the committee recommended that “the 1999 Constitution should be amended to ensure that the INEC becomes truly independent, non-partisan, impartial, professional, transparent, and reliable as an institution and in the performance of its constitutional functions.”

It thus recommended that INEC should consist of a board as well as a professional/technical election management team. The board will formulate broad electoral policy and direction for the commission, while the professional/technical management team will handle actual conduct of elections.

The electoral reforms committee also recommended that members of INEC board should be people of unquestionable integrity not be members of any Political Party.

The board shall consist of a chairman, a deputy, six persons, two of whom must be women and one member from each geo-political zone, one nominee of the civil society organisation working in the area of elections and accredited by the proposed political parties registration regulatory commission, one nominee of labour organisations, one nominee of the Nigerian Bar Association, one nominee of women organisations and one nominee of the media. However, once appointed, no organisation shall have the power to recall its nominee.

The committee recommended that in filling the INEC Board positions, the National Judicial Council (NJC) shall advertise the positions, receive applications and shortlist three persons for each position, and send the nomination to the National Council of State to select one from the shortlist and forward the short-listed names to the Senate for confirmation. Also, the professional bodies shall send names of three nominees to the NJC for screening and make appropriate recommendations to the National Council of State, which shall further screen and recommend one name for each category to the Senate for confirmation. The tenure of office of INEC’s board shall be five years, subject to renewal for another five years.

The professional/technical management team of INEC shall consist of a secretary and departmental directors. The directors shall be non-partisan, and be people of integrity.

The committee also believed that there is a need to unbundle INEC to enable it function efficiently. Towards this end it recommended that some of the functions currently being discharged by INEC should be assigned to other Agencies that were empowered by law just as INEC to function:

Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission (PPRRC) should be established and empowered to

The Board of the Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission shall comprise the following who shall be non-partisan:

Membership of PPRRC

In filling the board positions in the PPRRC, the committee recommended that the national Judicial Council shall advertise the positions of the chairman, deputy and the six National Commissioners

The NJC shall screen the application received and recommend to the President for appointment subject to confirmation by the Senate.

The tenure of members of the board of the PPRRC shall be 5 years renewable only once.

The Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Member of the Board shall be removed from the office by the President acting on the recommendations of the NJC that the member be so removed for his or her inability to discharge the functions of his or her office or appointment (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body) or for misconduct or contravention of the code of conduct.

The Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission shall have power to appoint, dismiss, and exercise disciplinary control over its own staff.

With these recommendations, the committee also recommended that Sections 221- 229 of the 1999 Constitution should be amended to replace all reference to INEC with the PPRRC. Also, Section 15 of the 3 rd Schedule to the 1999 Constitution should be amended to reflect the new roles and functions assigned to the Political Parties registration and Regulation Commission.

Electoral Offences Commission

The committee also recommended the establishment of an autonomous and constitutionally recognised Electoral Offences Commission through a bill of National Assembly and empowered to perform the following functions:

Enforcement and administration of the provisions of the Act establishing the commission;

The committee also recommended the following as the composition of the Electoral Offences Commission:

Appointment of Electoral Offences Commission Members

In appointing the Commission members, the committee recommended that the chairman and the members of the Commission who shall be non-partisan shall be appointed by the president subject to the confirmation of the senate.

The Chairman and the Deputy Chairman shall be not partisan persons not below 45 years of age.

The chairman and Deputy Chairman shall hold office for a period of 5 years term and upon satisfactory performance may be re-appointed for another period of 5 years term and no more.

Members of the Commission shall hold office for a period of 5 years and upon satisfactory performance may be re-appointed for another period of 5 years and no more.

The Chairman, Deputy Chairman and Members of the Commission may at any time be removed from office by the president for inability to discharge the function of he/her office (whether arising from infirmity of mind or body or any cause) or for misconduct or acting on the advise of two-thirds majority of the senate confirming that he/she be so removed for acts inconsistence with the Constitution or this Act.

Independent candidature

One of the major issues that have generated debates in the country is whether or not independent candidates should be allowed to contest elections in the country. The committee recommended that independent candidates should be allowed to seek election at all levels subject to constituency based nomination by verifiable signatures of 10 registered voters in each ward in the constituency.

Also, the candidate should pay financial deposit which will be subjected to refund if the independent candidate scores at least 10% of the total valid votes cast in that election in the constituency. The rate of deposit should be equal to 10% of the approved election expenses for the various offices as provided for in Section 93 of the Electoral Act, 2006.

It is against this background that the following ceilings of individual candidates to support independant were set:

President: N20 million

Governor: N15 million

Senate: N10 million

House of Representatives: N5 million

States houses of Assemblies: N2.5 million

Chairman of local government: N3 million

Councillorship: N500,000

In addition, the independent candidate must meet all the conditions for eligibility stipulated in the constitution, the Electoral Act or any other applicable laws.

Party Ideologies and Programmes

One noticeable feature of the political parties in the country is the lack of party ideologies. So, it is difficult for both the political leaders and their followers to actually tell the electorate what their political parties stand for. The committee recommended that all political parties should have identifiable ideologies and ideals which shall inform their programmes and the ways and manner they intend to operationalise the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state policy as contained in Chapter 2 of the 1999 Constitution.

The committee further recommended that political parties should also be encouraged to establish think tanks at all levels to generate ideas. Of course, it is from such ideas that party manifestos are supposed to develop. In tandem with this is the recommendation that political parties should endeavour to ensure that their politics are policy-based rather than personality –based.

Flowing from this is the recommendation that parties should be issue -based and should distinguish themselves from each other based on substantive issues of concern to voters rather than the personalities of their leaders. Parties are encouraged to seek to approve their understanding of voter concerns, address those concerns, and adopt responsive policies into their party platforms and manifestos.

Cross Carpeting by Political Office Holders

You would all recall that cross carpeting by politicians in legislative houses and those occupying executive capacities often always lead to acrimony among politicians and their followers. To stem the tide of such untoward happenings, the committee recommended.

Public Funding of Political Parties

Against the backdrop of the emergence of godfathers in our political parties and the use of it to further political aspirants against the popular wish of others, it was considered expedient to institute a mechanism for transparency and accountability by political parties. The committee considered that political parties shall disclose to INEC all sources of their funding including donations. At the same time, the committee believed that the government should continue to fund political parties either directly or through the INEC. However, the political parties should also raise funds on their own through sales of forms to candidates, fund raising, individuals or corporate donations as well as undertaking commercial activities.

The committee also recommended that performance in the general elections should be the yardstick for the funding of political parties. It also recommended that after 2011 elections, only parties that score a minimum of 2.5% of the votes should be eligible to receive grants from public funds.

Still on accountability by political parties, especially as regards the issue of checkmating moneybags from capturing the political parties, among others, the committee recommended that the Political Parties Registration and Regulatory Commission (PPRRC) should ensure strict compliance with the financing regulations as contained in the Electoral Act 2006 and enforce it accordingly. And, after the submission of annual financial returns by political parties, it should produce an audit report on the returns which should then be made public.

Enhancing Internal Democracy in the Political Parties

It is an open secret today that most of our political parties lack internal democracy. And to enhance internal democracy in the political parties, the committee recommended that political parties should be reformed with more insistence on intra-party democracy. Consequently, the political parties should regularly hold their party conventions, congresses and meetings at all levels. These conventions, congresses and meetings should also be free from undue interference. Such party convention, congresses and meetings should adhere to the scope of their power and authority as entrenched in the party constitution.

Also, as part of the desired internal democracy, it was recommended that party organs should play active roles in determining who is nominated to contest for positions in the party, appropriate to their levels. And, above all, the committee recommended that there should be no cross-carpeting under any circumstance.

Given past internal wrangling in the parties on the nomination of candidates, the committee recommended that political parties should develop internal procedures for candidate nomination that are open, transparent, inclusive and democratic and require that those seeking nomination did not use intimidation, violence, bribery or similar unacceptable methods to gain nomination or office.

Report of Administrative panels

Report of any administrative panels should not be used to disqualify candidates. Thus ERC recommends that Section 182 (1) (i) of the 1999 Constitution should be amended to allow only judicial reports of tribunals to be used. In addition Appropriate legal framework should be provided to support justiceability of party nomination in the position of the ERC.

Period for the Determination of Election Petitions

Against the backdrop of the long delay in the dispensation of justice on petitions arising from the elections, the committee believed that justice delayed is justice denied and consequently recommended that the 1999 Constitution should be amended to specify the period for considering petitions. The determination of cases by tribunals should take four months and appeal should take a further two months, giving a total of six months. Thus neither the President, Governors, or any elected persons can take office until his/her case have been completely decided by the courts.

The First-Past -the -Post Electoral System

The First-Past-The-Post electoral system has been the order of the day in our elections. This has had its own debilitating effects on our electoral system as it fuelled politicians to do everything possible to be the first past the poll and be declared the winner. With the hindsight of Terms of Reference, the committee looked for other electoral systems that would ensure free and fair elections and at the same time temper the heated polity that usually emerge immediately after every election in the country. Consequently, the committee recommended a combination of First Past the Post and Modified Proportional Representation (MPR) for legislative elections at the federal, state and local government levels. The ERC believed that by injecting a dose of Proportional Representation based on Closed Party Lists, would give every Political Party that seriously competed and won however few seats the chance to be included in the Houses. You will agree with me that the polity is heated and many sections of the country feel they are left out of governance completely when a major party wins less than sometimes even 30% of the votes but manages to collect 70% of the seats. Truly the complete election better reflects representation of the population when proportional representation is also combined with FPTP in selecting representatives.

The committee recommended that the First-Past-The-Post system should continue to be used for all elections of the President and Governor and for the Chairman Local Government Councils. It is recognize that the inclusion as recommended would also lead to creating 30% of extra seats at all Houses of Representatives or L.G.A in the country.

The performance of political parties in each election conducted under the mixed system shall be the basis for allocating the proportional representation seats. The threshold to be met by parties for sharing the proportion representation seat shall be the total number of valid votes cast in the First-Past-The- Post election divided by the number of available proportional representation seat for the election. This threshold will represent the minimum number of voters a party must win to be allocated a proportional representation seat.

Most importantly the ERC recommended that political parties shall nominate for the proportional representation election at least 30% female candidates and 2% physically challenged candidates for legislative elections.   

Conclusion

Before I take my seat, I like to make a few observations.

My submission is that if we improve on all of these areas and the ERC recommendation are along these lines they would impact positively on our political system and we would be on the path to having a better behaved leadership and followership in the polity.

Let me also say that in this discussion, I have not touched the role of security forces in our elections.

In conclusion, all is not lost. There is still another step. Hopefully these recommendations can still be considered. As such, there is room for us to reconsider and re-examine the people’s wishes as expressed in the ERC recommendations in order to arrive at the desired standards of our dream.

Thank you and God Bless.

PROF. GRACE A. ALELE-WILLIAMS, OFR

LAGOS

JUNE 12, 2009