*Urges Law Changes Allowing INEC Appointments, Tech Deployment

Human rights lawyer Femi Falana, SAN has stated that, “Nigeria cannot conduct credible elections without amending the relevant provisions of the Constitution and Electoral Act to provide for the appointment of INEC members by advertisement, deployment of technology for accreditation of voters and transmission of election results from polling units to the central server of INEC.”

According to Falana, “Once the electoral process is fully technologized the proof of election petitions will be based on the BVAS reports and uploaded results.”

Falana stated this in a paper titled “Updating Nigeria’s Electoral Reforms delivered at the Retreat of the Joint Committee on Electoral Matters supported by Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre last week in Lagos.

Falana said, “The onus of proof of conduct of credible elections should shift to INEC and winners of elections. The question of dumping election materials will not arise as they would be produced and certified by INEC.”

Falana also said that, “Democracy cannot be consolidated where the masses are asked to tighten their belts while elected public officers are paying themselves jumbo salaries and allowances.”

The paper, read in part: “Since democracy is under threat due to mass poverty the political system must address the welfare and security of the people.”

“As a matter of urgency, progressive forces must compel the federal government to reverse the removal of fuel subsidy, investigate the fuel subsidy scam; speed up the rehabilitation of the nation’s refineries and build new ones.”

“The federal government must stop the floating of the Naira and stop the devaluation of the Naira through dollarisation, cancel the planned increase in electricity tariffs and reintroduction of tuition fees in tertiary institutions.”

“Nigeria has enough money to pay her debts incurred by the plutocratic ruling class, provide electricity, free education, free healthcare and other social services for the people.”

“Since members of the ruling class will not willingly provide for the needs of the people, I call on Nigerian workers and allies in the civil society to organize for the socialist reconstruction of the country.”

“My view is that the fundamental objectives enshrined in chapter two of the Constitution cannot be actualized under this peripheral capitalist system.”

“Between 2022 and 2023, general elections were conducted by electoral bodies in some African countries, including Angola, Kenya, and Nigeria.”

“The petitions filed against the results of the presidential elections declared by the election management bodies in Angola and Kenya were determined within 14 days by the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court respectively.”

“Even though the general elections in Nigeria took place between February and March 2023, the legal battle to confirm the actual winners of the presidential and legislative elections has just ended while the results of the governorship elections may not be determined by the courts until January 2024.”

“The reason is that the elections shifted from polling booths to the election petition tribunals and the appellate courts.”

“Specifically, the results of the presidential and legislative elections will be confirmed after 8 months (October 2023) while the results of the governorship elections will be confirmed after 10 months (January 2024).”

“Notwithstanding the shortcomings that characterized the general elections the partial deployment of technology by the Independent National Electoral Commission was responsible for the reduction in the election petitions filed by aggrieved contestants.”

“While 436 post-election petitions have been filed in respect of the 2023 general elections, 807 post-election cases were filed in 2019. In fact, the 2023 general elections have recorded the lowest number of petitions filed against elections conducted in Nigeria since 2003.”

“The reduction in the number of election petitions was largely due to the introduction of the BVAS machines which removed millions of ghost voters from the electoral process.”

“Sometime in 2017, I compared the conduct of elections and resolution of election petitions in Nigeria and Kenya. In the well-publicized article entitled Electoral Justice in Nigeria and Kenya I called on the national assembly to technologize the electoral process and fast-track the resolution of election disputes by amending the Electoral Act and the relevant provisions of the Constitution.”

“I equally recommended the implementation of fundamental electoral reforms. The suggestions were ignored by members of the political class due to the fact that they are beneficiaries of the dysfunctional electoral system.”

“It is common knowledge that despite the fact that State Independent Electoral Commissions are headed by retired chief judges and senior lawyers, they conduct the worst elections in Africa whereby the candidates of the ruling party in every state are declared the winners of all chairmanship and councillorship elections.”

“The sole reason for the brazen manipulation is that state governors are not prepared to have elected chairmen and councilors from opposing political camps who may challenge the diversion of the monthly statutory allocations of local government councils.”

“In many states, democratically elected councils are dissolved or suspended by state governors to pave way for the appointment of caretaker committees and sole administrators to run the affairs of such councils in contravention of section 7(1) of the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which guarantees the existence of democratically elected local government councils.”

“Such executive lawlessness has continued despite the fact that the Supreme Court has repeatedly condemned the frequent dissolution of local governments and appointment of caretaker councils by State Governors on the ground that it is not only illegal but highly undemocratic.”

“It is equally interesting to note that the political leaders that have accused the Independent National Electoral Commission of mismanaging the 2023 general election performed worse in the conduct of primary elections of majority of political parties last year.”

“In fact, a handful of top party chieftains engaged in the imposition and substitution of candidates. On account of protests by the victims of illegal imposition or substitution of candidates, a total of 1,878 pre-election cases were filed in 2022 whereas only 370 pre-election cases were filed in 2019.”

“In order to put an end to the disgraceful conduct of elections and the political culture of violence and manipulation of election results, the President proceeded to set up the Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel.”

“The 22-member Panel collated the views of the Nigerian people and made profound recommendations which were submitted to the federal government.”

“The highlights of the Uwais Electoral Reform Panel include the procedure for transparent appointment and removal of chairman and members of INEC, unbundling of INEC, independent funding for INEC, proportional representation, independent candidates, fixing of dates of elections, composition of election tribunals, time for determination of election petitions, and shifting of onus of proof in election petitions.”

“The Electoral Act 2022 has made adequate provisions for internal democracy in political parties. But the parties are run like government parastatals. Hence, the President claims to be the national leader of the ruling party.”

“But the Electoral Act does not recognize the President as the leader of the ruling party. Therefore, members of party members should stop the President and Governors from hijacking the political parties. The imposition of candidates by a cabal in the parties should stop.”

“In his inaugural speech on May 29, 2023, President Bola Tinubu took Nigerians by surprise when he said that ‘fuel subsidy is gone.’”

“In implementing the directive of the President, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited announced that the prices of petroleum product would henceforth be fixed by market forces.”

“The policy led to sharp increases in the prices of petroleum products. At about the same time the Bola Tinubu administration directed the Central Bank to floating the Naira and allow market forces to fix the exchange rate of the national currency visavis other currencies.”

“Owing to the reverberating effects of the removal of fuel subsidy and floating of the Naira the prices of goods and services have gone out of the reach of majority of citizens. Consequently, poverty has been on the increase.”

“To compound the economic crisis the Central Bank has failed to arrest the dollarization of the economy. While Nigerians are groaning under the excruciating economic pains the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have lauded the neoliberal policies of the federal government.”

“Meanwhile, both Bretton woods institutions have failed to join the demand of the Nigerian people for investigation of the fuel subsidy scam and foreign exchange fraud.”

“It is submitted that the decision of the Bola Tinubu administration to allow market forces to determine the exchange rates and prices of petroleum prices without control is illegal as it violates section 16(2)(a) of the Constitution which provides that the State shall direct its policy towards ensuring that ‘the promotion of a planned and balanced economic development.’”

“It is further submitted that neither the Central Bank Act nor the Petroleum Industry Act supports the fixing of exchange rates and prices of petroleum products by market forces without control by the federal government.”

“The recent removal of elected governments by the armed forces in some African countries and the threat of a coup in the United States in January 2021 have shown that democracy cannot be taken for granted in any country.”

“I have come to the conclusion that democracy cannot survive in any country where the majority of the people are said to be ‘phenomenally poor’ while the members of the political class have cornered the commonwealth with the connivance of imperialism.”

“The point that I am struggling to make is that the implementation of neoliberal policies in Nigeria and other African countries constitute the greatest threat to democracy.”

“I am therefore compelled to call on progressive forces to organize and mobilise the people to defend democracy and economic development. In particular, the Bola Tinubu administration should be challenged for allowing abdicating its responsibility to run the country to market forces.”