Dissecting the Anatomy of Fraudulent Elections in Africa: Proposals for Reforming Nigeria's Electoral Process

Okechukwu Oko, Southern University Law Center

Abstract

Abstract Africans, like their counter parts in established democracies, have long recognized elections as the means for citizens to elect their leaders. They also recognize that conducting credible, free and fair elections remains Africa’s direct, perhaps only route to democratic consolidation. The problem, however, is that the utility of elections in a constitutional democracy rests on several pillars, all of which are shaky in Africa. This paper examines the conundrum of conducting elections amid chaos and uncertainty resulting from environmental factors and the attitude of political elites toward the electoral process. Elections in Nigeria will continue to be conducted under dubious and questionable circumstances unless something is done to reclaim the integrity of the electoral process currently under siege by corrupt politicians. The challenge for Africa is how to simultaneously make elections a credible and effective way for citizens to choose their leaders as well as vital and integral component parts of the process to deepen democracy. Despite the problems with elections in Africa, I argue that electoral problems are neither inevitable nor insoluble but rather, they result mainly from the failure of leadership to set the template for appropriate electoral behavior and their inability or unwillingness to provide the resources needed to sanitize the electoral process and rid it of irregularities. Political elites must match their commitment to promote democracy with the willingness to allow the electoral process to function without efforts by them or their goons to rig or manipulate elections. Electoral irregularities cannot yield to cosmetic reform or tokenism. Reforms require vast systemic changes to subvert the culture that spawns fraud, to reestablish the credibility of the electoral commission gravely tainted by electoral officers who act more like partisans than neutral umpires, to establish effective mechanisms for conducting credible and tamper-proof voter registration and voting exercises, and to punish perpetrators of electoral fraud and to fairly and quickly adjudicate election disputes. The paper examines five things Nigeria must do to eliminate the inefficiencies and perverse incentives that lead to electoral irregularities, namely, integrating modern technology, prosecuting electoral fraud, subverting the culture that engenders electoral irregularities, improving the mechanism for adjudicating election disputes and reclaiming the integrity of the Independent Electoral Commission..