By Sani Idris
Africa's frontline non-profit organization promoting participatory democracy, human rights and civic participation, Yiaga Africa, has said that scrapping State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) is counterproductive and would suffocates INEC, thereby undermining decentralisation.
Its Executive Director, Samson Itodo, in a statement issued to newsmen on Friday in Kaduna, said they have observed the increasing calls for the abolition of the SIECs and transfer of the responsibility of conducting local government elections to the INEC.
According to him, the policy proposal
is fundamentally flawed and would have far-reaching implications for Nigeria's 25-year-democracy if implemented.
He pointed out that, it would overstretch and overburdened INEC, thereby lead to poorly conducted local elections.
Itodo equally said it undermined the autonomy of states guaranteed in the constitution, which would potentially lead to an overconcentration of power in the Federal government.
He added that, it would weaken local democracy and citizens
participation, as local communities would be stripped of the opportunity to participate in decision-making.
He recalled that in 2022, the National Assembly introduced the provision in the 2022 Electoral Act to regulate the procedure for LGA elections in bid to salvage the integrity of local government elections.
He explained that SIECs were compelled by the Act to conduct local elections in conformity with the procedures laid out in the 2022 Electoral Act, where states had since been updating electoral laws to conform with the provisions of the 2022
Electoral Act.
Speaking on why SIECs should be retained, Itodo said abolishing them contravenes the constitutional principle of state autonomy.
He said the constitution provides for a federal structure that ensures
the devolution of powers to the states.
"By centralizing the conduct of local government elections under INEC, the proposal undermines this
federal structure and erodes the autonomy of the states, leading to an
unconstitutional overconcentration of power at the federal level.
"Eliminating SIECs would weaken the states' capacity for self-governance. At a time the demand for LG autonomy enjoys national consensus, scrapping SIECs is a contradiction and it undermines the
principles of federalism which hinges on devolution of power,"he said.
Speaking further, the Executive Director said INEC's current mandate is extensive and demands substantial resources and attention.
According to him, the commission is overburdened with numerous responsibilities such as conducting significant number of elections in a
general election year, including off-cycle governorship elections,
bye-elections, and re-run elections.
"The commission is perpetually
occupied throughout the electoral cycle with registration and regulation of political parties, voter registration, production of election materials, guidelines, and candidate nomination.
"Adding the responsibility of conducting LG elections would further strain the commission. It will potentially lead to administrative inefficiencies and
reduced effectiveness in managing electoral processes.
"This excessive burden would compromise the integrity of elections, contravene the fundamental right to free and fair elections as guaranteed by the
constitution," he added.
Speaking further, he said SIECs have been underwhelming since the return to democracy in 1999 due to capture by state governors, weak or ineffective legal framework, underfunding and limited election administration
capabilities.
These factors, he said resulted in poorly conducted and flawed
local council elections.
He noted that Yiaga Africa's position is that while the calls for
abolishing SIECs are understandable, it is no antidote to flawed LGA
elections.
According to him, the proposal fails to address the underlying causes of
'electoral coronation' masquerading as elections at the local level.
Itodo equally said in an electoral context defined by executive lawlessness, electoral impunity and ineffective accountability
measures, abolishing SIECs would not fix the problem of bad elections at the LGA level or promote local government autonomy.
Rather than scrap SIECs, he said the National Assembly and executive should consider implementing stricter sanctions or legislation that criminalize dissolution of local government councils including withholding federal allocation to
states that fail to conduct LG elections or guarantee operational and financial independence of SIECs.
As a pathway to strengthening electoral democracy at the LG level, the Executive Director recommended amending the constitution to explicitly safeguard the operational, administrative and financial independence of SIECs.
He also recommended addressing the ambiguity regarding the tenure of LG chairmen and councilors through constitutional amendments to
minimize arbitrary dissolutions of the LGs by Governors supported by state legislatures.
The executive director also called for the introduce of additional mechanisms for equitable devolution of power to state and LGs, including laws that empower them with greater administrative and fiscal autonomy.
He urged SIECs to invest in capacity development to improve the quality
of election administration at the state level through training for electoral officers, acquisition of modern electoral technologies,
and improvement of administrative processes.
"Abolishing SIECs is not a solution to flawed local government elections.
Instead, addressing the underlying issues and strengthening them
through legal and institutional reforms
"Doing this, will enhance local democracy and preserve the integrity of LGA elections,"Itodo said.(NAN)
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