Implementations, Issues and Opportunities of Electoral Laws in Nigeria

Abstract

The trend of electoral contests in Nigeria is characterized by moneybags and godfatherism syndrome; influencing the electoral victory of their favoured candidates, through acts that circumvent due process of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Illicit acts, such as vote buying, bribery, and other financial inducements by politicians, including inducement of security agents, electoral officers, and civil society groups have become major features of most elections conducted in Nigeria, since the commencement of democratic rule in 1999. It is in this regard that this article examined as its main objective the implementations, issues and opportunities of electoral laws in Nigeria. While its specific objectives are to: examine the relationship between Nigeria’s Constitutional provisions and electoral integrity; determine the relationship between Electoral Act 2022 and credible elections in Nigeria; and assess the effect of the Nigeria Police Act of 2020 on peaceful conduct of elections in Nigeria, among others. The study utilises qualitative research design, and adopted the secondary method of data collection, which relies on the use of text books, government documents and publications, academic journal articles, internet sources, and so on. The obtained data were analyzed through the adoption of textual and thematic analysis. Findings from the study showed that the poor implementation of Nigeria’s Electoral laws is the bane of credible elections and good governance in the country. Several policy recommendations were advanced towards mitigating the challenges of electoral democracy in Nigeria, such as enactment of a new legislation that would no longer make the President of Nigeria the appointing authority of the Chairman of INEC and other officials, rather, a competitive process that would be piloted by the National Judicial Commission, and the National Assembly should be put in place for the emergence of the countries’ electoral umpire, among others.