“Extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere.” – Kofi Annan
Any reward given to a person for voting in a particular way or for not voting can be called vote buying and this is a widely known corrupt election practice. The practice of vote buying is banned in United States as well as several other countries as it is a threat to the conduct of fair elections. Unfortunately, as witnessed in the recent elections in Ekiti State, Nigeria, the trend is a viable threat to the upcoming general elections within the country in 2019.
Nigeria is incontestably Africa’s most populous country with a current population of just under 200 million. A UN report released last year projected that Nigeria will become the world’s third largest country by population, and one of the six nations with a population of over 300 million by 2050.
In order to understand why buying votes is a powerful tool in swaying elections in Nigeria, one must understand that a large percentage of Nigerians live in extreme poverty. According to the World Poverty Clock, 82 million Nigerians currently live in extreme poverty, a whopping 42.3% of the country’s total population and, instead of fighting to alleviate the situation, political office holders have weaponised this and now use it as a tool to gather votes on election day.
In the November 18 governorship election in Anambra State and the July 14 gubernatorial election in Ekiti State, there were several reported cases of voter inducement at the polling booths. After reviewing the conduct of the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State and in preparation for the September 22nd Osun governorship election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) noted the rising phenomenon of vote-buying during elections and restated its commitment and determination to continue to work with all stakeholders, especially the security agencies, to curb the ugly trend.
What does constitution say about buying votes?
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, the Electoral Act 2010, as amended, and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Rules and Regulations add to the regulatory legal framework for our electoral process.
Certain provisions from these bodies deal with the right to associate, vote, form political parties etc. Others include guidelines for the registration of voters, Election Day procedures, dispute resolution, etc. Breaches or violations of some of these provisions often attract penalties, which on conviction may be a fine, a term of imprisonment, or both. According to the Electoral Act, 2010, Article 130: “A person who – (a) corruptly by himself or by any other person at any time after the date of an election has been announced, directly or indirectly gives or provides or pays money to or for any person for the purpose of corruptly influencing that person or any other person to vote or refrain from voting at such election, or on account of such person or any other person having voted or refrained from voting at such election; or (b) being a voter, corruptly accepts or takes money or any other inducement during any of the period stated in paragraph (a) of this section, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N100,000 or 12 months imprisonment or both.”
This rule has been flaunted, brazenly, in recent elections in Nigeria and, as a result of this, the July 14th governorship election in Ekiti State was heavily characterised by vote-buying. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in its communique after the election, stated that manipulation did not occur and that its current dilemma was figuring out how to prevent vote-buying in future elections.
What does this mean for Nigeria’s democracy?
According to a statement by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI): “Vote-buying is a frightening development in our elections, it also undermines the legitimacy of elections and weakens representative democracy.”
The NDI and IRI also noted that during the July 14 gubernatorial elections in Ekiti State, the Watching the Vote (WTV) election observers experienced incidents of vote buying or bribery on election day. Various individuals commented that poverty, disillusionment with the performance of elected representatives, and low civic awareness of voters contributed to the expansion of the crime.
According to Auwal Musa Rafsanjani from the Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Center (CISLAC), while citizens sell their rights for monetary enticement, our democracy is at stake and suffering a serious setback.
“Vote buying has hitherto been an undemocratic strategy employed by politicians who prey on the existing high level poverty, hunger and unemployment in the country. Vote-selling on the other hand has become an escape route from poverty. The poor are the worst hit by vote buying, as their limited means makes them susceptible to material inducements, including offers of basic commodities or modest amounts of money,” Rafsanjani said, adding: “If holistic mechanisms are not put in place, there is a high tendency that vote buying may mar electoral credibility in 2019 general elections.”
Adding to this, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi from the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of over 400 civil society organisations, said: “Voter buying is becoming the norm with political parties trying to outwit each other in the sums paid to voters. This practice is a bad omen for the country’s democracy.”
What is INEC doing to reverse this trend?
In February this year, the INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakub, was quoted saying that politicians’ proclivity for vote buying could mar the 2019 general elections. To reverse this trend, the commission said it was working on secret balloting to curb vote-buying in the Sept. 22 governorship election in Osun State. The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun, Mr Olusegun Agbaje, said this while making a presentation on INEC’s preparations ahead of the State’s election at the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue Session in Abuja. Agbaje said that the commission had been worried about vote-buying since events at the Ekiti elections, and was looking for ways to curb it.
As INEC works towards ending the ugly trend of voters buying in Nigeria, the reality on ground is that because of the high level of poverty Nigerian voters are very likely to sell their votes. The responsibility is on INEC to end this by effectively implementing the electoral act and punishing politicians and all who engage in buying votes.
