• INEC Should Conduct Transparent Elections To End Off-Season Polls – Olurode
• Solution Lies In Ensuring Election Matters Are Concluded Before Swearing-In – Rafsanjani
• We’re Capable Of Conducting All Elections Once, If Aligned, Says Oyekanmi
The November 11 off-season governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi States brought to the fore a discourse that has continued to resonate in Nigeria’s political environment. Former president Goodluck Jonathan, who ruled Nigeria from 2010-2015, suggested the need to put an end to off-season elections, by aligning them with the general elections.
In an interview with reporters after voting in the Bayelsa State governorship election at Ward 13 Otuoke, Ogbia Local Council, Jonathan described off-season elections as odd and not a global best practice. He urged the National Assembly to ensure the practice was stopped.
“I get worried about the issue of off-season elections, and I will use this unique opportunity to plead with the National Assembly that we need to block off-season elections.
“It is very odd, it’s not a global best practice. A country can elect its people at different times, like the American election and some countries. They may not elect everybody at the same time but the only time they go on to conduct elections, they elect everybody that is supposed to be elected.
“If we continue with this trend of off-season elections based on the interpretation of our law by a judicial officer, it will come to a time when the presidential election in Nigeria may be conducted off-season.”
The former president’s statement made headlines and became the topic for discussions. Indeed, off-cycle elections occur outside the regular general election schedule and Nigeria holds simultaneous Presidential, National Assembly, Gubernatorial, and State House of Assemblies elections every four years.
However, certain states like Bayelsa, Kogi, Anambra, Osun, Ondo, Edo, Ekiti and recently Imo experienced off-cycle elections due to issues arising during previous general election schedule.
This trend originated in 1999 when dissatisfaction with election outcomes led to the dismissal of governors, prompting re-elections in contested states. Anambra set a precedent in 2003 when a tribunal challenge by Peter Obi against Chris Ngige’s victory altered the political landscape.
After a two-year tribunal case at the Court of Appeal in Enugu, the previously announced result was canceled, and Peter Obi was sworn in as Governor in March 2006. What this means is that the newly sworn in Governor started a fresh 4-year term.
Since then, Anambra state has held subsequent gubernatorial elections in November 2013, November 2017, and November 2021, with the next election scheduled for 2025.
Interestingly also, states like Bayelsa, Kogi, Osun, Ondo, Edo, and Ekiti fell into having staggered elections due to the fact that candidates who were dissatisfied with the declaration by INEC in the 2007 elections, approached the tribunal to petition the election outcome which were upturned by the courts.
However, Imo State became part of the “off-cycle” election phenomenon as Hope Uzodinma from the All Progressives Congress challenged the outcome against Emeka Ihedioha, the People’s Democratic Candidate (PDP). This legal dispute progressed from the election tribunal to the Supreme Court, culminating in Uzodimma’s inauguration as the state governor on January 14, 2020, following the Supreme Court’s declaration of his victory.
Jonathan’s statement also came on the heels of the decision of the Court of Appeal sacking three governors in separate judgments. The affected governors are Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State, Abba Kabir Yusuf in Kano, and Caleb Mutfwang of Plateau State. There are fears that the states might also join the list of off-cycle elections if the Supreme Court judgment go in favour of the petitioners.
Observers, though, blamed poor conduct of elections by INEC for off-cycle seasons elections. Those in this school of thought believe that if elections are conducted with transparency and fairness, there won’t be reason for defeated candidates to approach the court talk more the elections outcome being upturned. This means that persistent flaws in the country’s elections have had a detrimental impact on governance, impeding development across various levels.
For instance, despite winners emerging in Imo, Kogi, and Bayelsa—Hope Uzodinma, Usman Ododo, and Douye Diri, respectively—numerous reports highlight widespread irregularities during the polls. Instances of electoral violations, including violence, ballot-snatching, abduction of election officials, and voter suppression, were prevalent. From the outset, voter reluctance was evident, driven by fears of violence reminiscent of past elections.
Despite the substantial deployment of security forces, the voting process faced disruptions, intimidation, and instances of vote buying. Some polling stations had to suspend operations due to the discovery of pre-filled result sheets, casting doubt on the overall integrity of the election.
Some political pundits, however, in their argument to support the continuation of off-season elections believe that off-season polls allow for a more focused and efficient electoral process, as attention isn’t divided between various levels of government. This, they argued can lead to increased voter turnout and a more informed electorate.
Additionally, there are those who believe that such staggered polls provide an opportunity for authorities to address and rectify any issues or irregularities that may have arisen during previous elections. To them, this will promotes a continuous improvement cycle in the electoral system, enhancing its credibility and fairness over time.
Interestingly, observers in this school of thought also maintain that separating off-season elections from major national events can reduce the potential for undue influence or distractions, ensuring that voters make decisions based on the merits of the candidates and issues at hand.
However, there are those who look at the potential drawbacks just like the former Nigeria president. They believe that off-season elections may lead to increased financial burden, as separate election cycles require additional resources for organizing and conducting polls, and also such elections are prone to suffer from lower voter turnout as they lack the attention and momentum associated with major national elections. This could result in a less representative outcome and diminished public participation.
Therefore, Jonathan’s position seeking the cancellation of off-season polls in Nigeria might be influenced by various factors. Stakeholders believe the former president could be concerned about the potential drawbacks, such as increased financial costs, lower voter turnout, or the risk of political fatigue.
Keen political observers, nevertheless, pointed kit that realizing Jonathan’s proposal appears idealistic, and accomplishing such a feat seems challenging and nearly impossible without violating the constraints set by the Constitution.
Former INEC Commissioner, Prof. Lai Olurode, in an interview with The Guardian, said what is wrong with Nigeria Electoral system is not the presence of off season elections but the fact that the “court is becoming too visible and powerful in Nigeria’s management of pluralist democracy.”
He noted that the off-season elections which had arose due to the intervention of the court had become a matter that can only be changed through a constitutional fiat.
“If there is a bill in the National Assembly, for example, that all elections are better held on the same day, especially governorship election on the same date throughout the country, the National Assembly can now in a way, intervene by adjusting the date for the offseason elections either to cut short the life span of the governors by the number of days or months to fall in line with the regular elections”, he stated.
The professor of sociology, however, stressed that the “limitation of that kind of response is that when the court intervenes again, for example, if a governorship candidate feels shortchanged and goes to court again. So what is going to happen? The court will intervene again and maybe upturn the elections and a new governor will take off from the last date of somebody who have been illegally or wrongly declared as winner. So we’re back to square one.”
Noting that he is an advocate of power devolution, Olurode observed that what goes down in a state doesn’t have to fall in line with what goes on in the rest of the states.
He added: “”So it showed the strength of judiciary if we allow this offseason elections remain the way they are without using legislative fiat to bring them back to regular elections. I don’t think off-season elections is what is wrong.
“What is wrong is the fact that the role of the court is becoming too visible, too powerful in our management of democracy, and it’s not good for us.
“Take a state where you have about two to three million on the voter register and 30 per cent of them had come out to vote. Which means it will be let say 200,000 voters but when you now allow the judiciary to sit to decide the fate of over 200,000 electors, that is an abnormal situation. You’re assigning too much power to the judiciary. And don’t forget, the justices themselves are not saint. They are also politically, socially and economically infected. They have their own political predilections and preferences. So giving them power of the voter is an aberration in a democracy.
“During the time of Attahiru Jega, we make sure that all cases that went for review after governorship or legislative elections, the court upheld the positions of INEC. Therefore, it is for INEC to go back to the drawing board to make sure that elections cease to be controversial.”
Stressing that elections are becoming messier and messier, the don maintained that such development is not good for the nation’s democracy, adding that, “that is why you have to look for people with impeccable character who can stand on their own.”
He said: “In other democratic regimes, You have a situation where people will be appointed into the electoral bureaucracy on the basis of their political affiliation.
“For instance, if it can be reflected in the constitution, we can have parties like PDP, APC and other parties having certain numbers of party members in INEC depend on their strength. You elect according to the proportion of voters that are behind you. For instance, we know the number of PDP, APC, Labour Party and so on in the national assembly. We can amend our constitution and Electoral act to reflect appointment into INEC on partisan basis. Parties can select members that will be in INEC board on that basis. So when all of them get there, they will now select who will be the chairman among them. With this method, there will be checks and balances because no member of a political party will allow other party corrupt the umpire.
“I also think the expectation that the judiciary is apolitical is wrong. It can’t be defended at all. So what I’m saying in a nutshell is that rather than pretending that electoral officers and INEC commissioners are apolitical which is a wrong assumption. They all have their apolitical positions.
“INEC needs to do more to deliver on electronic transparency and credibility. Our elections are becoming too controversial and it’s not necessary. It is costing too much. Time is wasted.
“Look at the court cases involving the president. The country was held to ransom for the period of months the court was yet to decide on the matter. The best thing is to ensure that we perfect our electoral system and let the electoral umpire show more commitment to transparency and credibility. The fact that a matter goes to court itself is a defeat on the umpire role of INEC. I believe that nobody can conduct election in this country and stop people from going to court.
“Though most of the pre election cases are not caused by INEC but by the parties, so there is need to embrace internal democracy.” Chairman, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, said only the judiciary can stop off-season elections by ensuring that election matters are concluded before swearing-in.
He said: “Going by what is happening in the country, politicians’ will continue to create opportunity for Off-cycle elections which is unnecessary waste of resources, time and energy. How to end it is also another issue. I don’t know how they will go about that because some people tenure will be affected. It will be difficult.
“The only thing we can do is to ensure that there is no more off-cycle election because the reason why this happened is because the judiciary is not able to conclude the judicial process. Once issue has been taken to court, it takes time to conclude. They allow people to stay illegally until after two to three years and then they now declare him or her not elected person. Judiciary has a role to stop further escalation of off-cyle election. If all election matters are concluded before swearing-in, there would never be off-season elections.
“So the judiciary should ensure that all election matters, as recommended by the Justice Uwais committee, are concluded before swearing-in.”
But INEC asserts its ability to simultaneously conduct gubernatorial elections across all 36 states of the federation during every general election even if all the off-season polls are returned to the normal schedule.
“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is capable of conducting governorship elections in the 36 States of the federation at the same time during every general election.
“Indeed, that was what the Commission was doing until some court judgments altered the timetable of some of the governorship elections over the years. And court judgments must be obeyed. Nevertheless, if the situation is reversed, the Commission can and will adjust”, Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi told The Guardian.
