By Samson Itodo
I. Background
Since the return
to democracy in 1999, Nigeria has conducted five successive elections between 1999
and 2015. The 1999, 2003 and 2007 elections were regarded as the worst due to electoral
chicanery and the high level of malpractices that characterized the elections.[1]
In 2007, the late President Umaru Yaradua in his inauguration speech confessed
that the elections that brought him to office was fraught with irregularities
and fraud.:[2]
…despite
the consensus by Nigerians that democracy is the best form of government, our
inability to have elections that are internationally accepted and credible has
left a credibility problem for our electoral process … (Umaru Yar’adua, former
President of Nigeria)
The hallmark of
the 2007 elections was the brazen partisanship and partiality of the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). International and local
observers reported that the commission was a key actor in the perpetration of
electoral fraud and irregularity. The human rights commission also demanded for
the prosecution of Professor Maurice Uwu for alleged compromise and rigging of
elections.[3]
In a bid to
institutionalize democratic elections, President Yaradua constituted the
Electoral Reform Committee headed by former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice
Muhammadu Lawal Uwais. The committee had the former Chairman of INEC, Professor
Attahiru Jega as member. The committee received and considered 1,466 memoranda
and undertook wide consultations, learning visits and public interactive
forums.[4]
The final report of the committee advanced far reaching recommendations on how
to reposition electoral governance for better electoral service delivery and
increased citizen participation.
Since the
publication of the report, Nigeria has experienced remarkable advancement in
electoral governance and citizens’ participation. New biometric voter register,
improved security of elections materials, increased stakeholder engagement and
internal restructuring of the commission ere amongst the reforms introduced by
the commission. This owes its credence
to the robust advocacy by non-state actors like CSOs, trade unions and the
media. Remarkably, in 2010 the Nigerian constitution was amended to grant INEC
financial autonomy by placing the electoral commission on consolidated revenue
fund of the federation. In addition to financial independence, the Constitution
was also amended to fix 180 days as the timeline the determination of election
petitions by the election tribunal and upon appeal the matter shall be disposed
of within 60 days. The composition of the governorship and federal/state
legislative tribunal was reduced from five to three. The quorum shall be the
Chairman and one other member. At the appeal court, the Presidential election
petition tribubal shall be composed of atleast three justices while the
composition at the Supreme Court is five justices. The timeline for filing an
election petition was fixed at 21 days after the date of the declaration of
results of the elections (as amended).[5]
The 2011
elections ushered a new paradigm in the administration of elections with the
constitution of an independent and credible leadership at the Independent
National Electoral Commission. New innovations like the mainstreaming of youth
in election management and the deployment of technology to deepen the
inclusiveness and integrity of elections were introduced by the commission in
its bid to enhance liberal democracy. These new innovations and policy reforms
laid the foundation for the conduct of successive democratic elections in
Nigeria.
II. Youth participation in politics and elections
To prevent against arbitrariness by state
actors in the classification of youth, Nigeria adopted an age-based definition
of youth to ensure the needs of this social category are not neglected.
According to the National Youth Policy, 18 – 35 years is the age classificationfor
youth.[6]
Since 1999, the
country has witnessed increase in the evolution of youth civil society
organizations involved in promoting electoral governance, citizen participation
and public accountability. Social media has assisted young people to organize
against autocratic regimes and draconian public policies. With tools like
twitter and Facebook, Nigerian youths have organized to enhance political and
economic development.[7]
Driving conversations and policy advocacy has become fun for young people who
hitherto feel excluded from engaging political discussion due to apathy. The
#OccupyNigeria protests in 2012 is a classic example of how young people forced
their government to act.[8]
Other initiatives like #ConstReview focused on mobilising youth to engage
constitution review processes, #SaveBagega promoted accountability in the
environment sector; #OurNASS seeks to galvanize youth to demand accountability
and transparency in the legislature and #NISStampede that seeks justice for
victims of a recruitment scam exercise are other good examples of impactful
trends driven by young people in Nigeria. The campaigns elicited positive
responses from government. It also provided a platform sustained youth
engagement in governance. For example, the legislature ensured youths include
were mainstreamed in the constitution review process during public hearings and
committee meetings. Youth issues were also captured in the review process.
Young people
have been active participants in elections in contemporary Nigeria, playing
significant and visible roles in election management. The National Youth
Service Corps (NYSC) played a significant role by managing the biometric voter
registration exercise conducted by the INEC in 2010 and supported the
administration of the 2011 elections.[9]
A Youth Observatory Report released by Youth Initiative for Advocacy Growth and
Advancement (YIAGA), revealed that 90 per cent of political party polling
agents deployed on Election Day were young males with substantially lower
representation of women. The report also highlighted the fact that most
stationary election observers were young people.[10]
Voter education
and political mobilization is the most prominent area with high records of
youth engagement. Political parties harness the energies and intellect of youth
during political campaigns and rallies. Disseminating election information and
promoting issue-based electoral participation has been facilitated by young
people. Initiatives like #VoteNotFight by Youngstars Foundation, #RSVP project
by Enough is Enough, #Thumbpower and #ThumbItRight initiative of YIAGA, #GoVote
by Co-creation Hub do not only target young voters but they are driven by
youth. These enhanced the level impact as peer-to-peer was effective in
reaching out to youth.
Compared to
other forms of youth participation, the turnout of young voters for elections
and turnover of youth candidates by political parties have been very low.[11]
Low youth specific voter education and the inability of political leadership to
deliver on campaign promises discourages youths from active engagement in
elections.
According to the
Nigerian constitution, the age qualification to run for the office of the President
office is 40, Senate 35, House of Representatives 30, Governors 35 and state
assembly is 30 years.[12]
Segments of the young people are hence constitutionally restricted from running
for these offices. In addition the age threshold for electoral commissioners is
40 years. This poses is an impediment to youth participation in electoral
politics and election management. Other challenges of effective youth
participation in Nigeria includes; the dearth of strategic youth organizing
platforms within political parties, the absence of a coherent INEC youth
engagement strategy, high cost of running political campaigns, the
politicization and interference of youth platforms and student bodies by government
institutions and political parties, and limited platforms for political
mentoring and intergenerational dialogue.
III. EMB entry points
The functions of
INEC are enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the Electoral Act
2010 (as amended). These are the two main legal framework for Nigerian
elections. Although all elections are regulated by legal frameworks, an
election management body creates an enabling environment for the actualization
of youth political interests and exercise of franchise through its operations.
In line with the principles underpinning election management, EMBs engagement
with youth enhances inclusiveness and accountability in electoral processes.
Whilst lacking a
coherent and elaborate strategic framework or strategy for youth
engagement, INEC streamlines its
engagement with youth throughout the electoral cycle.
Pre-election period activities
Based on its statutory mandate as set out
in the Electoral Act 2010, the INEC is duty bound to undertake effective voter and civic education.[13]
Three key activities in this regards warrants attention: First, the INEC has established
civic education clubs in high schools. This activity has aimed to educate young
people who are mainly first time voters on their voting rights and the
imperatives of civic participation. Second, in 2014, INEC introduced a new
initiative tagged INEC Youth Ambassadors. In conjunction with youth
organizations like the Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth & Advancement
(YIAGA), the commission identified young celebrities and influencers as youth
ambassadors taksed with the responsibility of conducting voter education. The
ambassadors utilized their platforms and existing relations with youth to
disseminate voter education and messages of non-violent.[14]
Third, social media has been increasingly used by INEC to communicate with
youth. In the context of its Citizens Contact Centre for voter education,
incident reports and complaints resolution, INEC has established social media
channels – especially twitter, Facebook – in addition to ´traditional media
platforms like radio and television,´ dedicated hotlines and the INEC’s
website. In addition, INEC has also launched the ‘MyINEC’ mobile app to enhance
access to election information by young voters.[15]
INEC’s youth engagement is two-pronged i.e
is promoting youth participation in voting and mainstreaming youth in its
organisational setup. In terms of voter
registration, INEC engages in activities to mobilize unregistered voters to register to vote. The commission also
enlightens young voters – especially students – on inter-state transfer of
voter register. As mentioned above, the voter registration exercise is managed by
members of the NYSC who themselves are under 30 years of age. ,
Other relevant activities in the
pre-electoral period include consultations, training and campaign monitoring.
When it comes to consultation, the
commission has hosted several consultative town hall meetings and national
summit with young people. These programs haveprovided a platform for the
commission to enlighten young people on its programs and policies whilst also harnessing
youth inputs/feedback.[16]
On training, the commission trains
members of the NYSC members that has been recruited as INEC ad hoc staff for
voter registration and polling station services on the rudiments of election
management. The commission also trains duly accredited civil society groups on
election observation.[17]
The INEC is responsible for campaign
monitoring and more specifically for ensuring compliance with campaign
finance laws. Given that youth candidates are economically disadvantaged,
INEC’s role in levelling the playing field contributes indirectly to enhance
the chances of youth candidates to effectively contest in elections.
Election period activities
Election
Day operations are mainly managed by young people
at the polling units and results collation centres. Elections at the polling
station are administered by the NYSC members. Students of tertiary institutions
also constitute part of the ad hoc staff recruited by the EMB to conduct the
election. As polling officials, they are responsible for the collation and
announcement of polling unit results.[18]
By virtue of this responsibility, young people can contribute to the
credibility of an election if they perform their duties in a professional and
transparent manner.
Through the instrumentality of the election situation room and citizens contact
centre, INEC enjoins citizens’ observers to share incident reports in their
polling units using social media platforms. Young people and citizens observers
share real-time election updates with INEC. This facilitates rapid response to
critical incidents and it influences the
policy direction of the electoral commission.
Post-election
period activities
The post-election period avails INEC with the
opportunity to audit and review its engagement in the elections. The INEC engages
youth organizations in in-depth research analysis to investigate the
motivations and impediments on youth participation. Research tools like focus
group discussions, surveys and interviews are used by the commission for data
collection. For example, INEC conducted a post election analysis on its
engagement with youth. The findings, recommendations and trends analysis of
such studies could form the impetus for electoral reforms and improved youth
participation in the electoral process. Post-election conferences and
stakeholder review meetings were convened by the electoral commission in the
aftermath of the 2015 general elections. The review meeting amongst other
things assessed the level of youth participation and their contribution to the
success of the elections. One major gap identified in the conference was the
low engagement of young politicians and party youth leaders by the election
commission in the build up to the elections. The commission was urged to
develop an comprehensive program that builds the capacity of youths to
effectively participate in elections as voters, party candidates, election
observers etc. Facilitating opportunities for knowledge building and advocacy
on voluntary/legislated quotas for marginalized youth was among the key
recommendations forwarded to the commission.
IV. Youth in election administration: INEC-NYSC collaboration
Several complexities are inherent in the
administration of elections in a country like Nigeria with its vast voting
population. The INEC requires over 700,000 personnel to adequately manage the
conduct of elections.[19]
With its 15,000 permanent staff[20]
and the inability to accommodate more, due to limited budget, the need to
recruit ad hoc staff for voter registration and polling station services is
critical.
In the past, ad hoc staff were drawn from
government institutions and private individuals who had no definite records or
verifiable addresses. The use of ad hoc staff was characterized by various
electoral malfeasance which undermined the integrity of elections[21]
Defaulting ad hoc election officials could not be held accountable due to poor
documentation and unverifiable addresses.[22]
Following the conduct of the 2007 general elections,[23]
INEC resolved to engage young people under the NYSC scheme in the conduct of
by-elections and re-run/supplementary elections. The first engagement of NYSC
members as polling clerks in the conduct of elections began in 2008.[24]
The NYSC scheme is a program of the Federal Government of
Nigeria created in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war as a post-conflict
reconstruction, rehabilitation and rebuilding initiative of the government.
Established in 1973,[25]
the NYSC scheme seeks to enhance youth development and promote national
integration and unity among youths. The
program is exclusive for graduates of tertiary institutions who are under 30
years of age.[26]
In 2010, INEC and the NYSC officially signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) formalizing its partnership to deploy corps members for
election-related activities. As clearly enunciated in the INEC MOU the
engagement of the services of NYSC members for election conduct was adjudged to
be satisfactory. Furthermore, the policy to sustain the deployment of youth
corp members is attributed to the level of professionalism
and neutrality displayed by the youth during elections. The internal disciplinary
mechanism of the NYSC program serves as checks on the conduct of youth corp
members .[27] An
approximate 375,268 NYSC members have engaged as election officials between
2008 and 2015 election cycle.
How does it work?
The recruitment
of youth corps members is handled by the NYSC. Interested youth corps members
voluntarily sign up to be engaged in election administration through an online
application process managed by the INEC.[28] For the 2015 elections, 186,000 interested youth corp members
applied to be election staff at the close of registration. Youth corp members mainly constitute the
polling team which includes the Presiding Officer (PO) and Assistant Presiding
Officers (APO). During voter registration, the youth corp members serve as
registration officers. The staff of NYSC are also deployed for supervisory
roles during electoral duties in which youth corp members are involved[29].
INEC is responsible for youth corp members training and deployment. All youth corp
members are trained by INEC before deployment for any election activity. The
training is conducted by the training department of the electoral commission at
the NYSC camps in states across the federation. INEC is responsible for the
deployment of youth corp members to respective polling units and voting centres
in line with its operational plans for elections.[30]
Although the NYSC members voluntarily sign
up to participate in election administration, different categories of allowances are provided by INEC to cover
costs incurred during training and elections. Cumulatively, each NYSC member is
entitled to $179 as INEC standard payment for election officers.[31]
In line with conventional practice, all
election officials are duly insured by the electoral commission throughout the
period of their engagement.
In terms of discipline and accountability, all corps members engaged in
electoral duties are subject to the direction, control and supervision of both
NYSC and the electoral commission during the timeline of the engagement. The corps
members are also bound by the code of conduct for election officials and the
NYSC by-laws.[32]
What are the results?
Institutionalization of democratic elections: The professional conduct
and patriotism exhibited by corps members involved in managing elections at the
polling units has improved the integrity of elections in Nigeria. This is
exemplified with the acceptability of electoral outcome and decline in
post-election litigation. In the 2007 elections, there were 1,290 petitions, in
2011, 732 petitions and in 2015, 611 petitions were received.[33] In separate reports, domestic and international observers
acknowledge that the 2011 and 2015 elections were successful due to the immense
contributions of the youth corps members.[34] INEC also acknowledges that its engagement of youth in election
administration has been satisfactory and productive.
Promotes
youth participation: Mainstreaming youth in election
administration is one strategic methodology of enhanced youth participation in the
electoral processes. It goes beyond traditional EMB approaches towards
increasing youth turnout in elections. This initiative expands the civic space
and opens opportunities for young people to participate in the electoral
process.
Restoring
confidence in youth: INEC’s engagement of youth in
election administration has restored the confidence of public institutions in
the competency and capabilities of youth. It underscores the fact that youths
are resourceful partners in deepening democratic development if given the
opportunity.
Instilling
the values of volunteerism, patriotism and citizenship: The program has exposed young people to the values and benefits of
volunteerism. Volunteering for election administration enhances community
building and active citizenship. Participants of this program express delight
and fulfilment for contributing to good governance and credible elections
through voluntary national service.
Reducing
the costs of elections: By voluntarily subscribing
to participate as adhoc election officials, the corps members reduce election
expenditure that would have been incurred by the electoral commission if she
opts to recruit substantive staff to manage elections.
Building
a culture of leadership: Engaging youth in election
administration develops a culture of leadership and democracy in young people.
Through the trainings and field activities, the corps members build leadership
competencies like; innovative thinking, team building, emotional intelligence,
effective communication and customer service, computation and report writing
etc.
V. Challenges and lessons learned from INEC-NYSC collaboration
Disenfranchisement: Nigeria’s electoral law stipulates that voters can only vote where
they registered. However, there is a provision that permits transfer of voter
registration details. These two provisions negatively impact on the
participation of election officials, security agencies and medical staff
working on Election Day. The deployment plan of the electoral commission makes
it impossible for election officials to exercise their franchise. Out of the
630,000 ad hoc officials recruited and deployed by INEC for the 2015 elections,
120,000 of them were youth corp members.[35]
So, as result of this initiative meant to substantially engage youth in election,
a large number of youth are prohibited from at elections.
Untimely
and inadequate training: The failure of the electoral commission
to commence early training of election officials, especially the youth corps
members, compromises their ability to effectively manage Election Day
operations. The number of days apportioned for training of ad hoc officials is
grossly inadequate to sufficiently equip the corps members with capacity to fulfil
their duties.[36]
There is a need to adopt a more practical approach to learning when conducting
training for election officials.
Poor
welfare and logistics: Over the years, the program has been
fraught with poor welfare and logistics, and delay in the payment of allowances
and stipends, leading to several threats of boycott by the NYSC members.[37]
Poor
communication and information-sharing: The centralization of
information poses a challenge to corps members seeking real time information
whilst on election duty. Corps members have had to navigate the bureaucracies
and inconsistencies associated with information-sharing[38].
Insecurity and violence: Lack
of adequate security makes corps members vulnerable to intimidation and
violence. In the aftermath of the 2011 Presidential election, 11 corps members
were killed by an angry mob in Bauchi state.[39]
In 2015, corps members were also subjected to different degrees of physical assault.
This discourages prospective corps members from engaging in election
administration[40].
Economic
determinism: Whilst some corps members are driven
by patriotism and civic consciousness in participating in the election
administration, some NYSC members are driven by economic benefits. In some
instances, NYSC members are inclined to bribery and compromise by politicians
and candidates always willing to compromise election officials to rig elections
in their favour.[41]
Lack
of a coherent follow up structure: There is no adequate
follow up with corps members engaged in election management most especially in
the post-election era. This deprives the electoral commission of the
opportunity to harness useful feedback and inputs into its processes. Ex-corps
members who participated in past elections could, for example, constitute a
technical volunteer base for future elections.
VI. Recommendations
Recommendations for INEC:
- Electoral reform: The legal regime for
elections should be amended to enhance youth participation and deepen electoral
integrity and accountability. Specifically, the laws should be reviewed to reduce
the age criteria for elected officials and electoral commissioners with
adequate representation of young women and men and persons with disability.
Such a reform should guarantee the right of Election Day workers to vote and
allow for independent candidacy, electronic voting and diaspora voting.
- Capacity development: INEC should improve youth capacity to engage the electoral
process through innovative and educative civic programs like leadership
trainings, democracy clubs, arts and music concerts, mentorship dialogues,
internships and exchanges. Special attention should be paid to young women and young
persons with disability in the design and implementation of such civic
initiatives. The commission should partner with other organizations like educational
institutions, government agencies civil society groups in this regard.
- Institutionalize electoral volunteerism:
There is a need to sustain the culture of electoral volunteerism as a means of
enhancing youth participation and deepening electoral democracy. INEC should develop
a policy that seeks to expand the scope of electoral volunteerism across the
spectrum of the electoral cycle as voter and civic education is an important aspect
of elections that requires many volunteers. This can serve as a base for
recruiting election staff for future election activities.
- Electoral offences prosecution:
Prosecuting electoral offenders will reduce electoral impunity. This will in
turn boost the confidence of youth corp members involved in election management
to report incidences of electoral fraud and malpractices. .
Recommendations for EMBs considering to
step up their engagement with youth:
- EMB youth engagement strategy: EMBs
should be encouraged to develop a youth policy or youth engagement strategy to
serve as a framework or roadmap for its engagement with youth. This will promote
sustainability, increase impact and productivity of EMB activities aimed to
promote youth participation in the electoral processes.
- Engaging youth in electoral administration: EMBs ought to consider possibilities for including youth in the management of electoral
processes. The collaborative framework set up by INEC and NYSC can be used as
an example, but EMBs embarking on such a process must carry out appropriate
planning to mitigate challenges such as inter-institutional partnership frameworks,
contractual issues and training to mention a few.
[1] Professor Abubakar Momoh, The Electoral Reform Process: Challenges and Prospects, September 2009
[2]
Umaru Musa Yar’adua, Presidential
Inauguration Speech, May 29, 2007
[3]
National Human Rights Commission Report Stop Impunity
Report, 2014
[4]
Electoral Reform Committee Full
Report, 2010
[5]
1999
Constitution (First Alteration) Act 2010
[6] National Youth Policy, 2009
[8] Innocent Chiluwa, ‘Occupy Nigeria 2012: A Critical Analysis
of Facebook Posts in the Fuel Subsidy Removal Protests
[9] Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC), Report of the
Registration and Election Review Committee, 2012; Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC), Report on the 2011 General Elections, 2013
[10] Youth Initiative for Advocacy,
Growth & Advancement (YIAGA), Youth
Observatory Report on Ekiti and Osun Elections, October 2014
[11]
Youth Initiative for Advocacy,
Growth & Advancement (YIAGA), Youth Candidacy Report, 2015
[12]
Sections 131, 65, 177, 106 of the
1999 Constitution As Amended
[13]
Section 2 of the Electoral Act 2010
As Amended
[14]
Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) National Pre-election
Youth Summit Report, January 2015
[15]
Interview with Commissioners and
senior staff of the voter education department of INEC
[16]
Independent National Electoral
Commission, Activity Report 2011-2014
[17]
Interview with Senior Staff of the operation department of INEC
[18]
INEC Election Management System Project
Report, July 2015
[19]
INEC Report of the 2015 General
Elections, July 2015 (Unpublished)
[20]
Interview with Commissioners and
senior Staff of INEC
[21] Memoradum of
Understanding between INEC and NYSC
[22] Ibrahim, Jibrin and Garuba, D. Governance and
Institution-Building in Nigeria: A Study of the Independent National Electoral
Commission (Abuja: Center for
Democracy and Development, 2008)
[23] The 2007 general elections were manifestly the
worst in Nigerian electoral history. The election was characterized by massive
rigging, violence and voter intimidation. Both international and domestic
observers noted that the election fell short of international standards for
election conduct
[24] Kogi State Governorship Re-run election held on Saturday, March 29,
2008. 5,851 NYSC members were engaged as polling clerks
[25] Decree 24 of 22nd
May 1973. The Decree was later replaced by Decree 51 of 16th June
1993
[26]
National Youth Service Corps Act Cap
84, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004
[27] News Agency of Nigeria Interview with Brig. Gen Johnson Olawumi,
Director-General of NYSC http://www.dailyschoolnews.com.ng/nysc-members-will-be-electoral-officers-during-2015-elections-nysc-inec/
[28]
Interview with members of the
INEC/NYSC committee
[29] Memorandum between
INEC and NYSC, 2013
[32]
INEC and NYSC, Memorandum of Understanding,
November 2010
[34]
European Union Election Observation
Mission Report, 2011
[36] Interview with NYSC members
[38] Interview with NYSC members
[39] Presidential Committee on the 2011
Electoral Violence Report, 2011
[40] Ibrahim Shehu Harris, Assessing the participation of the
youth corps members in the 2015 Electoral Processes Pg. 11
