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Opening
New Window On Electoral Law
Members of
Civil Society at a Stakeholders’ Forum on Electoral Reform held
in Abuja reviews fresh strategy to make imput in a new Electoral
Law,
writes TONY
IYARE
For most part
of the two day stakeholders meeting on the Electoral Reform held
last week at Dayspring Hotel, Abuja, Chom Bagu spoke very little,
prefering instead to throw some banters that sent participants who
sat within earshot, almost reeling at the door. When the renown
political activist and former senior staff of Nigeria Labour Congress
finally found his voice and decided to release his hard hitting
volleys, it was to warn participants that state governors who recently
popped wine after their victory at the Supreme Court will be unwilling
to lose same through the back door. The governors penultimate Thursday,
won virtually all their prayers centred principally around which
tier of government had the right over the conduct of local government
election. The Supreme Court which limited the jurisdiction of the
National Assembly to the area councils in Abuja, also confined their
jurisdiction on local government matters to issues of procedure.
The verdict
not only deflated and bruised the ego of the legislators but gave
governors renewed confidence as lord of the manour. The outcome
of the ensuing power play many fear could be catastrophic for the
polity. Some of the participants at the stakeholders forum like
Nkom Toyo, were critical of what she perceived as the governors’
angling to fill the councils with their cronies in the wake of their
Supreme Court victories. Predictably, basking from a successful
outing against the National Assembly which had attempted to inch
on their exclusive area of jurisdiction, the governors had directed
their respective State Independent Electoral Commissions SIECs to
prepare to conduct the council poll on May 18 Toyo does not believe
this is realistic unless the governors are intent on shutting the
doors of the election to fresh candidates since the time is too
short for the Independent National Electoral Commission to embark
on the review of voters’ register..
“It is clear
that only the hirelings of governors will be able to emerge in this
process,” she says. Her fears is that many people who have just
attained the voting age of 18 will be disenfranchised from the election.
Those who have either voluntarily moved house or displaced as a
result of the myriad of inter and intra ethnic bloodbath which was
replicated in several parts of the country will also not be able
to vote. Worse, the rug will be removed from the protracted struggle
to expand the democratic space by ensuring that fresh candidates
are thrown up by newly registered political parties. Toyo is not
alone. Her views were re-echoed in different from by former president
of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Attahiru
Jega and Otive Igbuzor of the Citizenship Forum for Constitutional
Reform (CFCR) and many other participants. Jega, now director at
the Centre for Democratic Research and Training located in late
Mallam Aminu Kano’s Mambayya House, argues that it is our responsibility
to broaden democratic space by ensuring that the cases of manipulation
of election is erased.
This he says
can be done through the intensification of civic education. On the
issue of governors who are threatening to appoint sole administrators
to oversee local government councils if election cannot be held
before the expiration of the tenure of their chairmen, Jega couselled
on the path of caution. “We must avoid laying the basis for anti
democratic forces to exploit and rein in their love for dictatorship”.
Dr Jibrin Ibrahim who heads the country office of the International
Human Rights Law Group in Nigeria, was particularly piqued by the
attempt to play politics with the voters’ register which the SIECs
require to be able to conduct the local government election. Making
a veiled reference to the campaign to railroad President Olusegun
Obasanjo as the sole presidential candidate in the country, he says
it appears some people are resolved towards making sure that the
electorate are not presented with multiple choices.
Surprised at
the sudden decision of the Constitution Review Committee to embark
on a 10-day retreat in Lokoja, Ibrahim who is also chairman of Civil
Society Pro-Democracy Network retorted “Is it not strange that members
of the Constitution Review Committee are on retreat in Lokoja at
a time they are supposed to be sorting out the intractable issues
of the Electoral Act 2001 with many of the controversial sections
already voided by the verdict of the Supreme Court. Those who are
adverse to the postponement of the election for 90 days believe
that it would be a hard sell telling the governors to wait for another
five months before throwing out council chairmen who had massed
in a recalcitrant posture in the Association of Local Government
of Nigeria (ALGON) for sometime. While the party lasted, the governors
bid their time. “It is too late for the governors to accept any
olive branch from ALGON members”, noted a participant.
“What really
is the cost of not reviewing the voters’ register for the election?”
asked another participant. “It is important not to strengthen forces
out to erode the governors victory through the back door”, he says
While the meeting lasted, the Federal High Court, Abuja restrained
the INEC from releasing the 1998 voters’ register to the SIECs for
the planned council polls scheduled for May thereby further upstaging
the apple cart...Mr Shekwolo Jonah and nine other applicants aged
between 18 and 22 years had dragged INEC to court alleging that
they were entitled to vote in the forthcoming local government election
but had not been registered to do so. The presiding judge, Justice
Okechukwu Okeke also granted an order of mandamus to compel INEC
to register persons qualified to vote and revise voters’ register
to accommodate those who have attained the voting age since 1998..
He also granted the plaintiffs leave to apply for a judicial review
for a stay of proceedings in respect of all matters concerning the
elections, pending the determination of the substantive motion.
The plaitiffs
had in a motion ex parte averred that INEC, by virtue of the 1999
constitution had a statutory duty to update the voters’ register
before the local government elections. The applicants said the present
register was compiled in 1998 and that they had not attained the
voting age of 18 at the time. The fear is that it is not a throw
back to the legal battles the eventually stultified the resolution
of the problems associated with the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential
election. Like one of the participant noted, “we are back to the
same sing song of the Babangida and Abacha years”. At least this
regime can be creative and adopt a new approach, he quipped while
deriding the attempt by strategists of the Obasanjo for second term
campaign to adopt the same tactics by pro-Abacha campaigners. Many
participants at the stakeholders meeting were particularly critical
of the deliberate resolve of some anti-democratic forces to frustrate
the registration of new political parties and present the people
with multiple choices.
But they will
have greater cause to grind their loins as anti democratic forces
are busy making mincemeat of their resolutions. Last December 6,
as the stakeholders were perfecting their strategy to intensify
their lobby to make imputs into the now controversial Electoral
Act 2001 at the same hotel, President Olusegun Obasanjo was assenting
to the law at Aso Rock. This time a legal spanner has been put into
the works to virtually put on hold all yearnings to hold the local
government election in May. The meeting in their communique provided
some window to governors who may be aggrieved by either the tardiness
by INEC or the new challenge from the court.
“Upon the expiration
of the tenure of the present elected local government officials,
the most senior civil servant in a council should manage that affairs
of the council until fresh elections are conducted in strict compliance
with the provisions of the law which requires a 90=day notice before
elections are conducted”, the communique said. Whether this will
provide immediate succour for the governors is not too clear. First
published in the National Interest Volume 2, No 469 on Sunday, April
14, 2002.
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