Electoral Laws and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria (1999-2015)

Abstract

In all liberal democracies across the globe today, the electoral laws are enacted to guide the electoral procedures, processes and systems aimed at guaranteeing smooth transition and legitimization of government through free, fair, credible and periodic elections. The consistent adherence to the electoral laws helps in the consolidation of democracy. From 1999 to date, the Nigeria’s electoral laws have undergone a metamorphosis of reforms. The country’s prevailing electoral law is the ‘2010 Electoral Act’ (as amended) which has been grossly violated in its preceding and present status by the various political actors during the 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 general elections. Therefore, this paper argues that the constant rape and violations of the various sections of the electoral law in Nigeria has adversely affected the country’s electoral process/system and pace ofdemocratic consolidation. In attaining the status of democratic consolidation in Nigeria, it is recommended that the extant electoral law in the country be revamped in order to strengthen the capacity of the electoral umpire (Independent National Electoral Commission-INEC) to effectively monitor and enforce the compliance to the existing electoral laws by all stakeholders. In addition, this paper posits that the establishment of an independent electoral offences commission in the country will help in the prompt sanctioning of electoral offenders, thereby deterring potential electoral deviants. The secondary sources of data are employed for this work.

Keywords: Democracy, Democratic Consolidation,Electoral Laws