Inconclusive elections: Lessons learnt

The essence of democracy is to give citizens equal access and conducive atmosphere to elect their leaders regardless of who they choose to or what the candidates have to offer, anything less is a great threat to the existence of democracy. The current progressive decline of the quality of elections in Nigeria is worrisome and […]

The essence of democracy is to give citizens equal access and conducive atmosphere to elect their leaders regardless of who they choose to or what the candidates have to offer, anything less is a great threat to the existence of democracy. The current progressive decline of the quality of elections in Nigeria is worrisome and frightening, because the issue is pushing the country’s democracy to its final grave.  The just concluded supplementary elections in Kano, Sokoto, Plateau, Benue, Bauchi have recorded the same or even that led to its cancellation on 9th march 2019 by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). No matter what the outcome of these elections, Nigerians may still lose confidence in the system.

Regardless of one’s political affiliation, there were high level of abuse of human rights in the recent gubernatorial elections in Nigeria.  The desperation exhibited by both the incumbent and the opposition to get the result in their favour by all means is taking us back to square one with desperate politicians deploying every trick in their hats to disrupt the peaceful conduct of the election with a view to swaying voters to their side. In fact, the electoral guideline did not matter at all, going by the level of intimidation of voters especially women, elections observers and journalists witnessed during the elections. The political actors from both sides had a field day destroying the sanctity of the democratic process.

The factors that resulted in inconclusive election such as violence, over voting, underage voting, and cancellation have repeated themselves in the just concluded supplementary polls. Sadly, the factors became worse due to the desperation of politicians who turned elections into a do or die affair. For instance, in Kano state, the war of supremacy between Kwankwaso and Ganduje has reached its peak with the supporters of the duo brandishing and using dangerous weapons against one another. The quest for power among Nigerian politicians is born out of the huge financial benefits attached to the offices. We need to make politics less attractive, if politicians see politics as a call to duty many would drop their desperation to clinch power against all odds.

Idris Mohammed is a Program Officer YIAGA Africa Abuja.