Jega, the Electoral Act and 2023, By Dakuku Peterside

Recently Professor Attahiru Jega, former INEC chairman, shared his thoughts on the amended electoral Act that is yet to be signed into law. His views are important because he is considered an insider and has midwifed an electoral process reasonably regarded as credible by Nigerian standard. Professor Jega’s central thesis is that an electoral act that addresses the electorate’s concerns will help break the jinx of electoral fraud and sanitise the process leading up to the 2023 general election.

The time for digital democracy is here. Most developed countries have advanced e-governance infrastructure and have incorporated some form of e-democracy in their democratic process. Citizens communicate with their representatives, pay taxes, and engage in various aspects of civic responsibility online. Elections are not left out.

The only proviso in the electronic transmission of results that I can foresee is the level of adoption and implementation by INEC. The devil is often in the details. INEC has a history of struggling with novel technology, especially at the first time. The Card Reader adoption is a good example. Although the technology was a fantastic idea when INEC added it, the implementation was so poor that it created difficulties.

To illustrate, the US does not have a central electoral body, but it relies entirely on the credibility of the electoral process to legitimise its democracy. This scenario was even more evident in the last US presidential election, where all US institutions pulled together to save their democracy when Trump attacked the electoral process because they believed that the election results and credibility were sacrosanct.

There is no doubt that direct primaries will strengthen popular participation and make party membership fruitful and rewarding. People will get used to voting for candidates at the local level, and this will be in synch with the popular choice of party members who will enjoy the democratic creed of one man one vote. This action will deepen grassroots democracy with its ancillary benefit to the party and the nation.

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