A recurrence of the abysmal voter turnout in the recent bye-elections that took place in 11 states on December 5 reinforces the widespread belief that Nigerians still lack faith in the electoral process after 21 years of democratic rule.
The bye-elections in Bayelsa, Cross River, Imo, Lagos, Plateau, Bauchi, Enugu, Kogi, Borno, Katsina and Zamfara, were held to fill vacant senatorial and state assembly seats. However, most Nigerians seemed uninterested in electing those who will represent them in the legislature. Democracy is established and fostered through free, fair, accessible, and secure elections through which the voice of every eligible citizen is heard.
According to reports, the Lagos-East senatorial election, which zone comprises Ikorodu, Epe, Kosofe, Somolu and Ibeju-Lekki local governments, witnessed less than nine percent voter turnout despite the poll holding on a weekend, a work-free day. Ironically, Lagos State, which has the largest voting population in the country, has consistently witnessed the lowest voter turnout in the nation. The 2019 governorship election recorded a voter turnout of less than 19 percent. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance reported a steady decline in voter turnout across the country in the last 21 years with the 2019 general election at just about 35 percent, recording the lowest turnout in history. Incidentally, the recent Ghanaian presidential election recorded a turnout of over 79 percent despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Chairman, the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, the failure of politicians to fulfil campaign promises contributes to the low turnout of voters. He also cited violence and threats of violence during elections as contributing factors.
While it is true that the political class has failed Nigeria, the citizens should not adopt a defeatist attitude by doing nothing. The educated middle class has left politics in the hands of unscrupulous moneybags thereby abandoning its civic responsibility of voting to an uneducated and impoverished class of Nigerians many of whom sell their votes for cash and food items to the highest bidder. This dangerous trend should not continue.
Indeed, the violence during elections and the failure of the authorities to bring culprits to book are enough to deter voters. The Ahmed Lemu-led Presidential panel that probed the violence that took place after the announcement of the 2011 presidential election found that 943 persons, including members of the National Youth Service Corps, were killed in 10 states in the North. Most of the perpetrators of the violence have never been prosecuted.
The militarisation of election and the grounding of economic activities on election days have also been a nagging issue. In many instances, acts of violence take place despite the large deployment of security personnel while several reports have it that the intimidating presence of security agents prevents them from voting. Incidentally, the then Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila (now Speaker), had in 2015 sued the Federal Government and the military for the deployment of soldiers during elections. Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos, ruling in his favour, held that deploying troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces in the conduct of elections when there is no uprising is “anti-democratic” and unconstitutional. However, soldiers are still being deployed for elections in flagrant disregard of the law.
INEC has failed to simplify the process of collection of Permanent Voter Cards and ensure continuous voter registration, which Section 10(1) of the Electoral Act mandates. Polling units and registration centres must be easily accessible to physically challenged persons. It is saddening that no Nigerian has been able to register to vote in over two years. This development inadvertently denied citizens the opportunity of voting in the Edo and Ondo governorship elections, as well as in the bye-elections in 11 states. It implies that no 18- or 19-year-old is in the voter register. This cannot continue. Nigerians must not be prevented from exercising their franchise under any guise. Besides, there have been complaints against INEC officials showing up late to polling centres. In some instances, voters wait for hours on end in queues before electoral officials arrive in the afternoon. Such acts of indiscipline must not be tolerated.
The 2023 elections are just about 26 months away. There is therefore a need to make hay while the sun shines. The Electoral Act must be swiftly amended to allow electronic voting, early voting and even Diaspora voting. At least 30 African countries have passed laws giving the right to vote to their citizens abroad, including Senegal, Mozambique and Benin Republic. Diaspora voting will increase voter turnout, give Nigerians abroad a sense of belonging, increase Foreign Direct Investment and deepen the democratic process.
Political parties must do more to increase their membership, create awareness and galvanise voters to action even before election season. The massive turnout and the victory of the Democratic Party in the recent American presidential election, was traced in part to the activities of NGOs like Fair Fight 2020 founded by Stacey Abrams, which was able to assist Democrats financially and technically build voter protection teams in 20 states nearly two years before the polls.
Why do people not vote? Many research findings show that citizens do not vote when they think it makes no difference to their lives; worry about a complex registration process; do not like the candidate or campaign issues and are too busy or have conflicting schedules. Yet, voting is the single strongest metric of democratic participation. It is the main way to communicate satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a representative. Nigerians must never forget that democracy is not a spectator sport but a participatory one in which the ballot box remains the only avenue to picking the right leaders. Refusing to vote defeats the very essence of democracy.
The 36th President of the United States, Lyndon Johnson, once said the right to vote is the “basic right without which all others are meaningless. It gives people, people as individuals, the control over their own destinies.” It goes without saying that refusing to vote risks leaving the nation’s precious destiny in the hands of incompetent and unscrupulous individuals; kleptomaniacs whose maladministration has brought the nation to the sorry state it is in today.
We need stress free elections. Voting is a civic duty, which should cost citizens little or nothing to perform. The present militarised electoral environment is damaging our democracy and should stop. Canadian election offices send voter information cards to all registered voters in the weeks leading up to a federal election to inform people about their polling location and when to vote. INEC should automatically update the electoral roll, as it is done in Canada, if a voter moves from one state to another. All eligible Nigerians must have the opportunity to vote—and be encouraged to do so.
