INTRODUCTION. Election is the most prominent feature of any democracy. It gives citizens the opportunity to choose their leaders and gives the leaders the legitimacy to rule. Through election, citizens express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a government by re-electing them or refusing to. This process ought to be fair and seamless for there to be a true reflection of the conscience of the people.
Unfortunately, this has not been the case in Nigeria. Nigeria’s election has been characterized by violence, vote buying and disorderly conducts over the years. Much of this is attributed to poverty, ignorance, greed, religious and tribal sentiments, lack of proper implementation of applicable laws etc. It is however our view that many people commit electoral offences because they are unaware of the all the conducts that amount to electoral offences.
This paper examines the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act that relates to electoral offences. It also examined the causes of electoral offences and made recommendations on ways to prevent electoral offences.
AIM AND OBJECTIVES. The aim of this work is to examine offences and penalties provided by the Electoral Act of 2022 and other relevant laws relating to elections in Nigeria. The objectives of this work are; 1. To understand the laws regulating election in Nigeria. 2. To understand the concept electoral offences in Nigeria. 3. To understand the penalties associated which each electoral offence created in the Electoral Act 2022. 4. To examine the implicationsof electoral offences in Nigeria. 5. To make recommendations that will ensure the prevention of electoral offences in Nigeria.
CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION OF KEY TERMS
1. Election: The oxford advanced learners dictionary defined election as “the process of choosing a person or a group of people for a position, especially a political position by voting”. Election is simply an organized system of voting for a person for a political office.In Nigeria, election entails series of procedure, in the case of Yardua & Ors v. Yandoma & Ors(2014) LPELR-24217(SC) (Pp. 73 paras. C) TheSupreme court described the process of election as follows “an election is a long drawn out process with distinct stages ending in the declaration of a winner by the Returning Officer. It entails one’s membership of a political party, his indication of desire to be the party’s candidate at the election, primaries for the nomination of the party’s candidate, presentation of the party’s candidate to INEC, the event of the election, return of the successful candidate at the election after declaration of scores, and ends with the issuance of certificate of return to the successful candidate.” Per MUHAMMAD ,J.S.C.
2. Voting: voting is the formal act of choosing someone for a political office during election.
3. Electorate:an electorate is a person entitled to vote in an election. The Mariam Webster dictionary defines electorate as a body of people entitled to vote.
4. Campaign:generally, campaign is a group of especially political, business, or military activities that are intended to achieve a particular aim. Campaign for the purpose of this article means the activity involving the promotion of any candidate in an election for any political office. In effect, it is an attempt to influence the decision of voters and obtain public endorsement.
5. Ballot: this is a system of voting in writing and usually in secret.
6. Ballot box: this is the box in which people put their ballot papers after voting.
7. INEC: Independent National Electoral Commission.
8. Offense: the contravention or breach of an extant law. According to the black’s law dictionary, offense is the violation of the law or a crime.
9. Penalty: penalty is the punishment imposed on a wrong doer (that is, a person who has violated the law) usually in the form of imprisonment or fine.
ANALYSIS OF ELECTORAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES.
1. The Offence of Unlawfully Possessing, Buying and selling of Voters Card: By the provisions of Section 22 (a)-(c), it is an offence for anyone to unlawfully be in possession of another person’s voter’s card. It is also an offence to sell, attempt or offer to sell a voter’s card for any reason. It is also an offence to buy or offer to buy any voters’ card.Penalty: Fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 2years or both.
2. Registration of a fake or fictitious person: any person who procures the registration of a fictitious person commits an offence: Penalty: fine of N100,000or imprisonment for 1year or both.
3. Offence of Hindering a person from registering as voter: a person who hinders another person from registering as a voter through duress, threat, inducement or any other means commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N500,000or imprisonment for 5year or both.
4. Forgery or destruction of ballot papers, nomination papers or election result form: any person who forges a ballot paper, nomination paper or result formcommits an offence. Similar offences to this include unauthorized issuance of ballot papers, removing a ballot paper or result from a polling station. Destruction of ballot boxes, signing a nomination paper consenting to be a candidate in an election which the person signing knows he is not eligible. Penalty: imprisonment for 2year without option of fine.
5. Unauthorized printing of ballot papers: any person who prints anything that purports to be or is capable of being used as a ballot paper or result form without the authority of INEC commits an offence. Also any person who is authorized to print but prints above the authorized number commits an offence. Any person who procures any ballot box or election device that is capable of diverting, manipulating or misplacing ballot papers commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N50,000,000or imprisonment for 10year or both.
6. Destruction of Documents required for registration of voters: a person who, without authority destroys, mutilates or defaces any notice or document meant for registration of voters commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N1,000,000or imprisonment for 12months or both. There are other offences which bears the samepunishment as the offence under this paragraph.There are;
• obtaining registration as a voter in a constituency under which a person is not entitled to be registered.
• obtaining more than one registration.
• publishing false statement to prevent qualified persons from registering as voters.
• obstruction of a registration officer.
• Impersonating a registration officer by dressing or appearing like one.
• Forgery of registration card.
• Conduct of registration outside places designated by INEC.
7. Acting in a disorderly manner: any person who acts in a disorderly manner or possesses an offensive weapon or missile at a political meeting commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 12months or both.
8. Giving a voters’ card to which one is entitled to another person: any person who gives his/her voters’ card to a person who is not an officer of INEC and any person who receives a voters’ card and uses same fraudulently commits and offence. Penalty: fine of N1,000,000 or imprisonment for 12months or both.
9. Being in possession of more than one voters’ card. Buying or selling of voters’ card. Penalty: fine of N1,000,000 or imprisonment for 12months or both.
10. Applying to be included in any list of voters with another person’s name: a person who applies to be included on a voters’ list with another person’s name commits an offence. Also a person who applies for a ballot paper in the name of another person; applies for another ballot paper after voting; votes or attempts to vote when he/she is unqualified; causes other unqualified persons to vote commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 12months or both.
11. Dereliction of duty by an official:any official of INEC who acts in breach of his or her duty, or refuses to report to his/her polling unit promptly, commits an offence.A polling agent or party agent who conspires to declare false results commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 12months or both.
12. Announcing or publishing false election result: announcing a result which is at variance with the correct result commits an offence. Penalty: Imprisonment for a term of 36months without option of fine.
13. Bribery and conspiracy: any person who gives any gift, loan, offer, promise etc or pays money to anotherin order to induce them to vote in any election commits an offence. It is also an offence for a person to receive money to vote or refuse to vote in an election. Penalty: fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 12months or both.
14. Secrecy of the ballot: any person who reveals the details of any voter or information as to the person for whom a voter is about to vote for or has voted for commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for 3months or both.
15. Causing a person prohibited from voting to vote: any person who Causes a person prohibited from voting to votein an election commits an offence. Penalty: fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for 6months or both.
16. Fake publication as to the withdrawal of a candidate from an election: any person who makes false publication that a candidate in an election has withdrawn from the election knowing that to be false and making prejudicial statements commits an offence.Penalty: fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for 3months or both.
17. Voting in a wrong constituency, bringing another person’s voters’ card tp the polling unit. Penalty: fine of N100,000 or imprisonment for 6months or both.
18. Acting disorderly during an election: Penalty: fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for 12months or both.
19. Snatching or destroying any election material or device: Penalty: imprisonment for 24months without option of fine.
20. Offences on election day: no one should do the following things on election day within a distance of 300metres of any polling unit.
a. Do not canvass for votes: don’t seek for support for any political party or candidate.
b. Do not campaign.
c. Do not try to convince anyone not to vote for any candidate.
d. Do not try to persuade anybody not to vote at all.
e. Do not mention any political party’s slogan.
f. Do not be in possession of an offensive weapon or wear any thing that is capable of scaring people.
g. Do not wear any political party’s dress or carry their poster.
h. Do not use any vehicle bearing the sign of a political party.
i. Do not snatch or destroy any election material or device.
j. Do not blare siren.
Penalty: fine of N100,000or imprisonment for 6months or both. 21. Holding meetings on election day: do not make any official announcement except you are an official of INEC. 22. Threat of force or inducement of a person from voting.Penalty: fine of N1,000,000 or imprisonment for 3years or both. 23. Preventing a candidate from using media is an offence:Penalty: fine of N1,000,000 or imprisonment for 3years or both.
CAUSES AND CHALLENGES OF ELECTION VIOLENCE. Poverty is one of the major causes of election offences in Nigeria. Many Nigerians are poor, thus they are easily swayed by candidates and political parties to engage in conducts that are on unlawful in exchange for money and other benefits.
Another notable cause of election offences in Nigeria is ignorance.
Many Nigerians are not sufficiently informed of the acts that constitute an offence under the Nigerian laws. Tribalism is also a cause of election offence in Nigeria. In a bid for people to ensure that their tribesmen win an election, they engage in unlawful conducts. Religion is another major factor that has led to election offences. Nigerians are religious people and they maintain a high level of loyalty to their religion and religious leaders. Sometimes their loyalty to their religion and willingness to ensure that their candidatewins an election leads to election offences. Amongst others effects, election offences brings about incompetent and corrupt governments and politicians who weaponize poverty to maintain themselves in power. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION. There is need to establish an election offence tribunal in order to deal with those who commit electoral offences.
This is because, in most cases as seen over the years. Offenders go unpunished and this encourages other to partake in electoral offences. There is also the need to pay INEC officials sufficiently. Many times politicians and political parties take advantage of the unfavorable condition of the INEC officials to bribe them. The unfavorable conditions of the INEC staff duiring elections, especially the adhoc staff makes them susceptible to corruption. INEC should also do more in enlightening the masses on the acts that amount to offences in an election process. There is need to introduce a more sophisticated technology in our electoral system which makes it more difficult to commit electoral offences. Nigerians must realize that committing any of the offences in this article would simply weaken the nation’s democracy.
There is need to avoid tribalism and religious sentiments in elections. Democracy should come with the freedom of everyone to make a choice and Nigerians must appreciate and accept this in order to develop as a nation.
AK Musa Esq., Human Right Lawyer/ Public Interest & Development Enthusiast.
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1. Election: The oxford advanced learners dictionary defined election as “the process of choosing a person or a group of people for a position, especially a political position by voting”. Election is simply an organized system of voting for a person for a political office. In Nigeria, election entails series of procedure, in the case of Yardua & Ors v. Yandoma & Ors(2014) LPELR-24217(SC) (Pp. 73 paras. C) TheSupreme court described the process of election as follows “an election is a long drawn out process with distinct stages ending in the declaration of a winner by the Returning Officer. It entails one’s membership of a political party, his indication of desire to be the party’s candidate at the election, primaries for the nomination of the party’s candidate, presentation of the party’s candidate to INEC, the event of the election, return of the successful candidate at the election after declaration of scores, and ends with the issuance of certificate of return to the successful candidate.” Per MUHAMMAD ,J.S.C.
