The plethora of cases emanating from the 2015 elections demands for total electronic voting system as the only panacea for credible, free and fair election in nigeria. Nigeria was to witness the emergence of a twoparty system in the 1964 general elections. We believe that this document, which is the product of extensive collaboration and consensus among nigerias leading civil society members, will serve as a guide for those embarking on the journey of electoral reform. While this process offered important safeguards against ballotstuffing other aspects of electoral fraud, it also required cumbersome electionday.
That said, elections in nigeria this season have already won praise, with observers calling the polls by far the fairest in decades. In the 2011 general elections in nigeria, the independent national election commission inec, the electoral management body emb that organized the elections pulled what may pass as an electoral feat in achieving one of the most open, credible, peaceful and transparent elections within nigeria s recent memory. Effectively, the 1922 clifford constitution paved the way for the very first electoral system in nigeria. Purpose the purpose of this act is to make the process for the referendum transparent and fair in order to obtain a clear expression of the will of islanders, by. Nigeria, july 2008 2 of slaves flowed north across the sahara for a millennium, ending only at the beginning of the twentieth century. Electoral system design is now accepted as being of crucial importance to wider issues of governance, and as probably the most influential of all political institutions. Violence has continued to mar the conduct of almost all general elections, making free and fair elections a. Michael alvarez, electoral context and voter confidence. E voting system has been subjected to practice and trials across. The muslim dominated north voted massively for general muhammudu buhari retd of. Nigeria has made progress since its return to democracy in 1999. Election rigging is the act of dishonestly organizing an election to get a. The nigerian electoral system electoral systems and.
Thirteen years after the end of military rule in nigeria, several office holders are still more inclined to serve. Expereinces and challenges a paper presented at the electoral risk management conference at radisson blu hotel, addis ababa, ethiopia from december 01 03, 2015 by ifeanyichukwu agoha coordinator, inec erm unit, nigeria background nigeria is a multidimensional society. The proposed adoption of e voting in nigeria by the electoral body. We then introduced what we call modified open ballot system which is a very unique and unconventional way of voting. The nature of an electoral system is to aggregate preferences and to convert them into electoral results, and no system can do this as a passive translation of individual wishes into a collective choice. Nigeria presidential and national assembly elections. Herskovits 1979, nigeria rejected britains parliamentary form of democracy which they had continued after independence in 1960 and chose the first wholly nigerianmade constitution, to follow the american model instead. Electoral politics in the fourth republic of nigerias democratic. Electoral reform and the prospects of democratic consolidation in nigeria j shola omotola j shola omotola is lecturer in the department of political science and public administration, redeemers university, nigeria email.
Nigeria s history of electoral violence is, for many, an unfortunately accepted fact of life, and cannot be viewed in isolation from the many social and economic inequalities, ethnic and religious divisions, and structural weaknesses such as corruption and weak state capac. Following the postponement, the observer group was redeployed on 21 march 2015. The research did not include terrorist attacks by islamic or militant groups with. An appraisal of precipitating factors in nigeria olayiwola victor ojo m sc political science, university of ilorin, ilorin, nigeria abstract nigerias electoral politics from independence has been tumultuous. Nigerias independent national electoral commission inec is committed in their own.
Despite the partly evoting system implementation in nigeria, some challenges were encountered in the voting process such as slow application response, high rate of biometric rejection during. No electoral system simply reflects voter preferences or the existing pattern of cleavages in a society or the prevailing political party configuration. The role of elections in emerging democracies and postconflict countries key issues, lessons learned and dilemmas elections have become a major factor in the stabilisation and democratisation of emerging democracies and postconflict countries. Pdf this paper examines election rigging and its effect on democratic consolidation in nigeria relying on qualitative approach, using data gathered. In september, the first election took place in lagos and calabar. In the 2011 general elections in nigeria, the independent national election commission inec, the electoral management body emb that organized the elections pulled what may pass as an electoral feat in achieving one of the most open, credible, peaceful and transparent elections within nigeria. Nigeria s electoral politics from independence has been tumultuous. Horowitz to evaluate an electoral system or to choose a new one, it is necessary to ask first what does one want the electoral system to do. Pdf the electoral process and democratic consolidation in nigeria.
In the political debate regarding electoral system, especially in those countries with less. In order to build a comprehensive picture of the conduct of the process, the group met a range of national stakeholders which included, among others, the independent national electoral commission inec of nigeria, political parties, the media and civil society. Elections are the key to establish a link between leaders and the public. An overview of presidential system at the local government level in nigeria prof. How the context of an election shapes voter confidence in the process, caltechmit voting technology ed. The 1999 constitution of the federal republic of nigeria confines election administration within the purview of. More than a dozen such elections will take place in 2010 and early 2011. Pdf the design and development of realtime evoting. An analysis grace malachi brown, phd department of history and diplomatic studies faculty of humanities rivers state university of education pmb 5047, rumuolumeni port harcourt, rivers state nigeria. Independent national electoral commission wikipedia. Nigeria in need of electronic voting system vanguard news. Introduction electoral processes are of utmost importance in a democracy. Electoral materials ace electoral knowledge network. Political and electoral violence in east africa 11 conclusion quite clearly, political and electoral violence are phenomena whose causes and nature are, to a sizeable extent, shared among the three east african states.
The total numbers of members per house depend on the population size of each state. Library of congress federal research division country profile. Secondly, the voting patterns during the 2011 presidential election epitomized the influence of ethnicity and religion on nigerias electoral system. The crisis of the electoral system in nigeria will be better understood if situated. Within nigeria, slavery was widespread and bore social implications that are still evident. The new international idea handbookas part of its tenth anniversary.
The riots in the northern part of nigeria after the presidential victory of the incumbent, president goodluck jonathan, if they widen, could derail the remaining phase of elections. Every electoral process starts with a preelection period, during which all the candidates work with people, present their manifesto and try to win their. Nigerias 2019 elections united states institute of peace. As aforementioned, the military ruled the country between independence in 1960 and 1999 when nigeria. University of nigeria virtual library serial no author 1 obimma, benson o.
The process of electoral system in nigeria the nigerian electoral system determines how much support from the citizens of the nation a certain candidatenominee or a political party receives. The implication perspective frankcollins nnamdi okafor associate professor and head, department of political science, nnamdi azikiwe university, nigeria abstract following the outbursts of violence in previous elections in nigeria, fears have been. Definitions in this act, a chief electoral officer has the same meaning as in the election act r. These topic pages provide a quick overview and easy access to all content that can be found on ace for any give topic of interest weather encyclopaedia files, electoral materials, comparative data, consolidated replies, case studies, or other. The system of electronic voting is one the most effective inventions that can be applied to the voting process. June 12, 2018 page 3 c electoral system referendum act chapter e2. Ebonyi state independent electoral commission ebsiec, abakaliki, ebonyi state, nigeria abstract. Analytical study of political party systems in nigeria. Nigerias creaky political system council on foreign. In this context, electoral system design can be a crucial tool in conflict management strategies, helping to lay firm foundations for sustainable democracy.
In an attempt at distinguishing a state from the political system, rummel r. Electoral commission inec of nigeria, political parties, the media and civil society, including. An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and referendums are conducted and how their results are determined. The traditional voting system with paper ballots used in the nigeria electoral system is time. A political system consists of the formal and informal structures which manifest the states sovereignty over a territory and people. Nigeria has a threetiered federal system of government, with a bicameral legislature. These rules govern all aspects of the voting process. A voting system must be comprehensible to and usable by the entire voting population, regardless of age, in. The elections will be conducted by the independent national electoral commission inec. This is a particularly important moment in africas history. Author 2 author 3 title distorted value system and electoral malpractices in nigeria keywords description term paper for the course gsp 104 social sciences category biochemistry publisher. The failure of these documents is attributed to two major reasons.
Fomwan federation of muslim womens associations in nigeria hdp hope democratic party icces interagency consultative committee on elections security ifes international foundation for electoral systems inec independent national electoral commission ipac interparty advisory committee iri international republican institute. Bribery and corruption are cancan worm that have eaten deep into the electoral system in nigeria, a lot of people. The elections will be conducted by nigeria s election management body, the independent national electoral commission inec. Winners may be determined by a plurality, a majority more than 50% of the vote, an extraordinary majority a percentage of the vote greater than 50%, or unanimity. Mapping, evolution and patterns june 2006 may 2014 executive summary an analysis of the nigeria watch database for the period between june 2006 and may 2014 revealed 915 fatal incidents related to elections. Members of the national and state houses of assembly will be elected using the firstpastthepost system, also known as a simple majority. Voting of the right c and eligible candidate5 in nigeria h. An electoral system or voting system is a set of rules that determine how elections and. Pdf this paper presents the design of a technological framework for electronic voting evoting. Nigeria general elections commonwealth secretariat. The role of election monitoring bodies in africa 1. Providing accessibility to such a diverse population is an important engineering problem and one where, if other security is done well, electronic voting could be. Electoral systems are relevant here because the question of whether a given government can enact legislation effectively is linked to whether it can assemble a working majority in the legislature, which is in turn linked to the electoral system reynolds et al.
Most of the elections in nigeria are characterize by violence and intimidation of opponents, selection of aspirant is not based on merit which is creating problem to our young and nascent democracy. In this paper, we developed an electronic voting system, which will eliminate rigging. The objective of this paper was to examine various electoral malpractices and problems in africa, looking critically at suffrage, franchise and elections and the attendant problems as. There are 3 types of municipal councils in south africa. Ghanaian electoral bodies but both had to decline on very short notice due to pressing electoral matters in their countries. This would also indicate why there are also some shared responses to these vices in the region, such as.
Similarly, the paper proposes solutions to some of the problems encountered in. What links here related changes upload file special pages permanent link page. Electoral system design also affects other areas of electoral laws. Strong social and governmental enforcement mechanisms in nigeria. Breaking the cycle of electoral violence in nigeria united states. Top priorities for the continent in 2015 with rising income, lower unemployment and better educated citizens, and a much poorer. Sometimes the criterion used, depends on the utility which the electoral system served. Pdf a framework for the adoption of electronic voting. Public received information about the electoral system and how winners are determined.
Nigeria has a total of 36 houses of assembly, one in each state, with a total of 991 members. Top priorities for the continent in 2015 with rising income, lower unemployment and better educated citizens, and a much poorer, less educated and struggling north atuanya 20. The origin of the inec goes back to the period before independence when the electoral commission of nigeria was established to conduct 1959 elections. Presidential and parliamentary systems are the two universally acclaimed systems of organizing. Elections are believed to be the key pillars of democracy and voting is one of the electoral processes that ensure the sustenance of democracy in any civil society. The development of professional electoral administration is not merely a technical and managerial. Anyone may voluntarily participate above the age of 18. However, the implication of nigeria s electoral history for the enthronement of a democratic order is yet to be exhaustively explored. An overview of presidential system at the local government. Nigeria, systems of government, electionsvoting, violence, executive. The role of elections in emerging democracies and post. The nigerian electoral process in perspective elections under colonial rule before independence in 1960, nigeria, which existed as an amalgamation of the northern and southern protectorates since 1914, had already witnessed three different elections. The independent national electoral commission inec, set up in 1998, is the electoral body which oversees elections in nigeria. According to inec, nigeria s electoral body, 68, 833, 476 nigerians will be eligible to.
The nigerian national alliance nna and the united progressive grand alliance upga. Democracy and electoral process in nigeria politics essay. Idea is publishing this new edition electoral system design. Analytical study of political party systems in nigeria adeniran, adetayo olaniyi school of management technology, federal university of technology, akure, ondo state, nigeria abstract party systems can be identified as patterns of interaction among political parties in electoral, parliamentary and governmental arenas of a given political context. Lindberg department of political science, lund university, po box 52, lund 221 00, sweden abstract based on an original data set of elections in africa, this article addresses the orthodoxy of theoretical hypotheses regarding the e. The first tier is the federal level, the second is state level there are 36 states and a federal capital territory fct and the third tier of government consists of 774 local government areas. Hence, it is generally agreed by political pundits that a reform of nigerias electoral system and practice has become essential to engender the confidence of the nigerian public in elections and the democratic process in the country iwu, 2008. Nigeria has a multiparty system, with two or three strong parties and a third party that is electorally successful. The presidential and governorship elections will also use a majority system, which includes some racespecific stipulations.
The theoretical framework for the study is cultural relativism. However, members of the peoples democratic party pdp had controlled the presidency since elections were resumed in 1999 until 2015 when muhammadu buhari won the presidential election. Candidates vying for the legislative council position are required to have a minimum annual income of 100 pounds. Electoral system referendum act prince edward island. Electoral frameworks, including the choice of electoral system and the design of electoral administration, determine both the outcomes and the credibility of electoral processes and thereby trust in democracy. Electoral system referendum act interpretation c t current to. Under the proper handling and control, they make it impossible to falsify results of the voting or rig an election. These were initially scheduled to be held on 14 february 2015 and were later rescheduled to 28 march 2015. A mixed or hybrid system, making use of both the ward system and the proportional representation pr system, is used for municipal elections. Political electoral systems are organized by governments, while nonpolitical elections may take place in business, nonprofit organisations and informal organisations. Voting is the main form of political participation in liberal democratic societies and voting or voter behaviour in the context of this work, is the attitude, perception, action, of an eligible voter in voting not voting and how and why such decision was made. The international idea handbook of electoral system design. We believe that this document, which is the product of extensive collaboration and consensus among nigeria s leading civil society members, will serve as a guide for those embarking on the journey of electoral reform. Electoral system in nigeria by david anyasi by david.