As part of its electoral reform agenda, the House of Representatives is considering the passage of a constitutional amendment bill that will ensure the participation of Nigerians in the electoral process without belonging to a political party. TONY AKOWE reports
In its Legislative Agenda, the 10th House of Representatives headed by Abbas Tajudeen has made commitment to reforming the nation’s electoral process to allow for equal participation of all Nigerians irrespective of who they are or their social status. The lawmaking chamber is committed to introducing reforms to allow for the free participation of all Nigerians in the electoral process. One such is the participation of independent candidates in elections at all levels. This is aimed at encouraging internal party democracy and limiting the influence of political godfathers, which has denied several persons the opportunity to vie for elective positions.
This was one of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference organised by the Goodluck Jonathan administration. Participants at the conference said since most political parties lack internal democracy, individuals must be allowed to vie for elective positions without belonging to political parties. The report said: “In some cases, aspirants who had been validly nominated were denied their mandates while persons who did not seek nominations had their names forwarded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as candidates. This has led to situations where aggrieved persons or aspirants resort to violence in the face of blatant denial of their rights.
The committee is seeking an amendment to Section 221 of the 1999 Constitution, which prohibits independent candidacy. The introduction of independent candidacy may lessen the tension associated with the nomination processes within political parties. It, therefore, recommends that relevant provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act be amended to emplace independent candidacy.
This is however with the caveat that aspirants so inclined to run as independent candidates should only get onto the ballot on the fulfilment of certain requirements, a position substantially in agreement with the Uwais Electoral Reform Committee.”
The conference wants an amendment to the Electoral Act in addition to the constitutional amendment to make provisions for individuals who wish to run as independent candidates to do so. They must, however, be nominated by verifiable signatures of 10 registered voters from each ward in the electoral constituency, payment of financial deposit to be determined from time to time by INEC or its state counterpart should be equal to 10 per cent of the approved election expenses for the various offices as provided for in the Electoral Act.
In addition, candidates are also required to meet all other conditions for eligibility stipulated in the constitution, the Electoral Act or any other laws. The conference however does not support the idea of refunding the financial deposit of independent candidates for whatever reason, as recommended by the Uwais Committee, as this would encourage frivolous recourse to independent candidature by politicians.
The Justice Uwais Electoral Reform Committee had recommended a refund of the deposit paid by Independent candidates if the independent candidate scores at least 10 per cent of the total valid votes cast in that election in the constituency. In the case of the President, the candidate must have scored at least 10 per cent of valid votes cast across the country to be qualified for a refund.
In addition to the position of the 2014 national conference and the Uwais electoral reform committee, the Ken Nnamani Constitution and Electoral Reforms committee also recommended that independent candidates be allowed to contest elections at all electoral levels. The Nnamani committee, set up by former President Muhammadu Buhari in October 2016, said the restriction of political participation to only persons nominated by a political party is inconsistent with the right of individuals to stand for elective offices.
The committee said: “In the Nigerian context, the preclusion of independent candidates can be blamed for exacerbating the tendency of politicians to manipulate the party primaries to secure party nomination and the conflicts arising from the conduct of party primaries. Based on the foregoing, the committee recommends that independent candidates should be allowed to participate in elections where: a) such a candidate is nominated by 25 registered voters in each registration area/ward of the constituency in which he stands for the election; b) the candidate paid 10 per cent of the approved election expenses for the office as provided in the electoral act and c) the candidate stands for election to the office of the President, Governor, or Chairman of a Local Government or Area Council.”
However, while a bill on independent candidacy has been in the parliament for a while, it was only passed in the 9th Assembly. But it failed to make it into the constitution because there was no concurrence from the state assemblies or because it did not get presidential assent. The bill passed by the 9th Assembly supported the idea of having an independent candidate obtain a minimum nomination by registered voters in the constituency where they intend to contest the elections. In this case, it requires at least 20 per cent of registered voters. The bill passed by the 9th Assembly states that for the office of the President, an independent candidate, must “obtain the verified signatures of at least 20 per cent of registered voters from each state of the federation.” The same applies to other categories of elections such as Senate, House of Representatives, state governors, state Houses of Assembly, chairmanship and councillorship.
However, as part of its legislative agenda to reform the electoral process in the country, the 10th House of Representatives has taken steps to amend the constitution to allow for the participation of independent candidates in the electoral process in the country.
A new constitutional amendment bill gazetted as HB 1630 sponsored by the spokesman of the House, Akinunde Rotimi is already being considered by the House as part of the constitutional amendment process.
The bill sponsored in collaboration with a non-governmental organisation, Elect Her has already passed the First Reading in the House.
The bill set out to amend sections of the 1999 Constitution. For example, it seeks to amend Section 7 by inserting a new subsection “(4A)”, and “(4B)”. While the new subsection 4A states that “notwithstanding any other law, any individual eligible to vote or contest an election into the state House of Assembly, shall have the right to be a candidate for election to any local government office notwithstanding that such individual does not belong to, or is not sponsored by any political party,” the new 4b states that “A candidate who does not belong to, or is not sponsored by any political party shall only contest an election if, in the case of a chairmanship election, such a candidate has obtained the verified signatures of at least ten percent of registered voters from at least two-thirds majority of all the electoral wards in the respective local government area; in the case of a Councillorship election, such a candidate obtains the signatures of at least ten percent of registered voters from at least two-thirds majority of all the polling units in the respective electoral wards: provided always that the signatures shall be verified by INEC or the state electoral commission; and that a registered voter shall not sign for more than one independent candidate in respect of the same office.”
Unlike others before it, the new bill which was read for the first time on Thursday, September, 26 also provides certain duties expected to be performed by INEC concerning independent candidates. The bill states that (1) INEC shall develop and publish guidelines and procedures for the nomination, verification, and participation of independent candidates in all elections. It also states that the Independent National Electoral Commission shall by regulation, prescribe the time within which an independent candidate shall submit his nomination papers and the collation of the signatures of registered voters: Provided that the time prescribed under this section for the collation of the signatures of registered voters shall run concurrently with the time prescribed for the conduct of primary elections by political parties.
In addition, it requires INEC to prescribe a security deposit to be paid by an independent candidate seeking election into any elective office created by this Constitution or any other Act of the National Assembly: and such security deposit shall be forfeited if such candidate fails to secure at least ten per cent of the total vote cast at the election. The law, when passed will also require INEC shall ensure that independent candidates are entitled to the same rights and subject to the same obligations as candidates sponsored by political parties, including access to public debates, media coverage, and campaign funding regulations and are also expected to create public awareness campaigns to educate the electorate on the role and participation of independent candidates in the electoral process.
The bill also seeks to amend section 221 of the constitution to create an Implementation and Monitoring unit within INEC to oversee the implementation and monitoring of independent candidature. The unit will be responsible for processing nominations and verifying signatures of those nominating an independent candidate; monitoring compliance with electoral regulations by independent candidates; and resolving disputes related to independent candidature.
It will also be required to submit an annual report to the National Assembly on the progress and challenges of implementing independent candidature, with recommendations for improvements.”
Speaking on the bill, Rotimi said the idea is to ensure that all Nigerians are given equal opportunity to exercise their constitutional rights to seek elective offices without being deprived by leaders of political parties.
He believes that even though the party system in the country is growing rapidly, many Nigerians seeking elective offices have often been denied the chance on the platform of existing political parties. He said in other climes, independent candidates have been allowed to contest elections even though they have robust political structures.
Ibijoke Faborode, Executive Director, Elect Her believes that the bill will promote an open contest in the political space, adding that it will allow vulnerable groups such as women, the youth and the physically challenged to take an active part in elective politics. She said: “As an organisation, we believe in inclusive governance and that is why we are trying to democratize the space for more people to have access to the electoral process and to ensure that every Nigerian is part of the process and to also ensure that the vulnerable population are also given a level playing field to explore opportunities within the political space and electoral landscape.
