Sir: At the end of a three-day conference on the Opportunities and Challenges in the use of Technology in Elections organized in Abuja recently by electoral management bodies from west (and southern) African countries, one of the pleas from communiqué was the call “on the private sector to assist in funding elections because the cost of elections are too high for the government to bear” (see, Punch, April 12).
Methinks we shouldn’t outsource the funding of our elections to private sector; they can collaborate as equipment providers or suppliers and provide us with election logistics services as the case may be as secondary stakeholders in elections. But for private sector to fund elections in a highly charged context like Nigeria would most likely compromise a lot of things since most of our politicians (the politically exposed persons) are more often than not the beneficial owners of most of our thriving businesses. Fortunately, unlike most other poor African countries, Nigeria can fund its elections without begging anybody as evident from all the five general elections conducted so far under the current fourth republic.
For example, for 2015 general elections, the total funding supports and other technical assistance from all the development partners and donor agencies put together for INEC could not be more than five percent (at most) for its entire budget. It however serves as an important contribution for civil society organizations to deepening civic engagement in Nigeria’s electoral democracy.
- Tunde Salman, Convener, Good Governance Team, Lagos.