Now, The Coast Is Clear   

Published on August 30, 2010 by TheNEWS   ·   No Comments

The signing of the 2010 Electoral Bill into law by President Jonathan revs up political activities

Last week, the Maitama, Abuja headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was a beehive of activities. And it is expected to be so for the next few weeks, as contractors will continue to besiege the sprawling edifice for a possible slice of the N87 billion released to the Commission for the compilation of a fresh voters’ register preparatory to the 2011 polls. On its part, INEC is virtually running against time, as it finalises the process of procurement and deployment of the 120,000 units of Direct Data Capture Machines, DDCM, to all the 120,000 polling units across the country where the compilation of the register will be done. It was gathered last week that the electoral commission had already forwarded to the security agencies for screening, the names of some of the contractors it wants to use to procure the machines.

On Friday 20 August, President Goodluck Jonathan signed the 2010 Electoral bill into law and released the funds demanded by INEC for the voters registration exercise, literally pushing the ball into the court of the Commission as far as organising the 2011 elections is concerned.  Two days earlier, Professor Attahiru Jega, the INEC chairman, had at a forum organised by the Commission to interact with registered political parties, complained that foot-dragging over the signing of the Electoral bill and non-release of the N89.5 billion approved for INEC to conduct fresh registration of voters by the presidency, were putting preparations for the 2011 polls in jeopardy. As was gathered by this magazine, this revelation jolted the presidency.

Indeed, Ima Niboro, spokesperson for President Jonathan and Labaran Maku, the Minister of State for Information and Communications, had in separate interviews defended the delay in signing of the Electoral bill. While Niboro told journalists that the bill got to the presidency just a few days earlier, during which period the President had been busy with other state matters, Maku said not being a rubber stamp, Jonathan had to take his time to scrutinise the bill before appending his signature to it.

Anxiety over the bill was heightened following speculation that there were pressures on the President not to append his signature to it as a result of some clauses in it which may not be favourable to him if he eventually decides to be part of the 2011 race. Specifically, supporters of Jonathan’s 2011 ambition quarreled over Section 89 (g) of the amended bill that stipulates that no government official or unelected person shall vote at the primary election, a provision that they argued would deny the President over 2000 votes if he decides to be part of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential primary. The clause effectively barred appointees like ministers, special advisers, chairmen of boards of parastatals and so on, from being delegates to the convention. Also, the stipulation in the bill that primaries will take place at the state level rather than at the national convention of the party convened in a particular location means state governors will play an important role in the final choice of who gets the presidential ticket of any political party.

The obviously orchestrated report that the President may withhold his assent to the amended law even before clean copies of the bill were sent to his office attracted criticism, especially from some notable members of the National Assembly and the civil society. Ali Ndume, leader of opposition in the House of Representatives for instance, threatened that members of the National Assembly who are currently on holiday would return to override the President’s veto if he decided to veto the bill. The President, who said he got three clean copies of the Electoral bill just three days before, commented on controversy over the bill, especially as it concerns him during the brief signing ceremony at the Aso Rock presidential villa. “I am driven by the belief that the promise of this process has greater potential and the option to broaden and advance our march to democratic freedom rather than undermine it,”  said Jonathan. He also reaffirmed his commitment to ensuring that the 2011 elections would be way beyond the widely condemned 2007 polls in terms of credibility. “The Act we have just signed today introduces staggered election in Section 25, the mode and the manner of conducting party primaries, and respect for party autonomy in Section 87, among others,” Jonathan said in a brief speech after he signed the bill. The 2010 Electoral Act repeals the Electoral Act 2006.

Significantly, the new electoral law addresses many contentious issues which had hitherto marred successful conduct of elections in Nigeria. It includes the manner of emergence and substitution of candidates for elections, campaign and election expenses, stipulation of punishments for electoral offences, timeline for voters’ registration and so on.

With the new Act, elections will now hold in January, four clear months to the expiration of the tenure of the current office holders. This is to allow for possible disposal of legal challenges that may arise from the conduct of the election before the newly elected officers are sworn into office. Section 30 of the Act also stipulates that, “Notice of Election shall be issued not later than 90 days before the day appointed for holding such election” while Section 31 mandates the political parties to submit to INEC, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the election not later than 60 days before the day of the election.  Section 10 (5)  of the 2010 Electoral Act stipulates for instance, that voters’ registration will be on up to 60 days to the commencement of elections against the 120 days in the 2006 Act. Also, INEC can now compile a supplementary list of voters which will be added to the register and published “not later than 30 days before a general election”. Analysts believe that with these two provisions in the new Act, INEC now has more time on its hands to compile a credible voters’ register. The Act also limits the expenses candidates for elections can incur in the process of seeking for votes as well as the expenses of the political parties themselves.

For presidential candidates, the election is limited to N1 billion; governorship candidates are limited to N200 million; senatorial candidates, N40 million; House of Representatives candidates, N20 million; State Assembly candidates, N10 million; Area Council Chairmanship candidate, N10 million and Area Council Councillorship candidate, N1 million. Section 95 (6) of the 2010 Electoral Act  provides that “no party, person or candidate shall keep or use private security organisation, vanguard or whatever other group or individual by whatever name called for the purpose of providing security, assisting or aiding the political party or candidate in whatever manner during campaigns, rallies, processions or elections”, a move designed to check violence during elections. This implies that the mushrooming ‘groups’, ‘vanguards’  and ‘supporters’ campaigning for some of the prominent aspirants like General Ibrahim Babangida, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and others will have to close shop.

Candidates are barred from using religious and tribal slogans or appealing to tribal sentiments during elections.  Another important inclusion in the Act is the stipulation that candidates for all positions can only be chosen through elective primaries in which only aspirants that scored the highest number of votes cast will be forwarded to INEC as candidates.  Also, such candidates can only withdraw either on their own volition by writing the electoral commission, or substitution will be accepted from their political parties only in cases of death. The Act also bars the emergence of candidates through consensus. It was believed that this will curb the role of political godfathers who take delight in substitution of candidates even after names have been substituted to INEC.  Also, according to the Act, the process of conducting a primary for an election cannot be halted by a legal action until the determination of the suit.

But not all sections of the Act are receiving widespread approval. For one, section 25 of the Act which stipulates the order of future elections has come under criticism from analysts. As stipulated in the Act, INEC will conduct the National Assembly election first, followed by presidential election and state assembly/governorship election last.  Critics however said this provision in the Act detracts from the independence of INEC to determine the order in which it sto conduct the elections.

A group of political parties said last Tuesday that this particular clause was included in the new law by members of the National Assembly, most of who belong to PDP, to give their party an unfair advantage in the conduct of the polls. The group of over 20 political parties which have already indicated their intention to challenge the Act in court also said they are not comfortable with Section 78 (7) of the Act, which empowers the INEC to deregister any of the political parties that fails to win any elective post in the elections. Dan Nwuanyawu, the Chairman of Labour Party, LP, said the provision in the new law on the order of elections is capable of turning Nigeria into a one-party state: “Because once the President is elected, it will propel a bandwagon effect in which every other person will want to belong to the president’s party to get elected.”  The LP chairman also said the power conferred on INEC to deregister political parties is a ploy to kill smaller political parties: “That a party does not win in an election is not an indication that it has no supporters. People must be free to choose and join which party they like. De-registering political parties means you are limiting their choice and forcing them to belong to parties other than choice.”

The clause on the deregistration of political parties that failed to win a seat at any level however enjoys the support of Nigerians who have argued that majority of the registered 62 political parties in the country are just mere conduit being used by their officials to siphon money from the national treasury through the regular grants they receive from INEC. This is confirmed by the fact that apart for the story of the suit to challenge the Electoral Act, even the approach of the 2011 elections has not been able to jerk the mostly comatose political parties back to life.

Though there are concerns on the effects the controversies over the amendments to the 1999 Constitution will have on the Electoral Act, this has not slowed down activities in the ruling PDP. Indeed, different factions within the party have returned to the drawing board to see how they can exploit the Act to further their ambitions, a source told this magazine last week. Northern Governors elected on the platform of PDP are especially relishing the influence conferred on them by the stipulation that the presidential primaries of the party will hold at the state level.

PDP governors who met in Abuja last Tuesday night were said to have discussed the possibility of working towards the emergence of one of them from the North as PDP’s presidential candidate in line with the principle of zoning of the party. The PDP Governors were reported to have earlier met with President Goodluck Jonathan who tried to get their views on his imminent declaration to run in the 2011 polls.

However, Mohammed Abba Aji, the Senior Special Assistant to President Jonathan on National Assembly Matters, said most of the PDP governors are now in support of giving the presidential ticket of the party in the 2011 polls to the President. He spoke to reporters after the group opened its campaign office in Abuja last Tuesday. According to him, the President, who is yet to declare his ambition, is sure of getting the support of the governors.

Aji told journalists that since President Jonathan inherited the political fortunes of the late Yar’Adua, he was not only qualified but “most qualified” to run for the presidency. “We have no fear at all, we know that our governors will support the President in due course. Many of them are doing that already,” he said, while emphasising that the President will not be intimidated into bowing out of the contest for the PDP presidential ticket: “The President will certainly run and he will declare after Ramadan. He is fasting along with us. But as soon as the Ramadan is over, he will declare for the Presidency. We will take a convenient date after the Sallah and you will be duly notified. Don’t believe those who are saying the President won’t run. The President will run.”

There were also expectations that the formal release of timetable for the elections by INEC will ginger the other political parties into more concrete actions.

Tags:  2010 Electoral Bill, National Electoral Commission, President Jonathan