Like their counterparts in the United States, candidates in Nigeria vying for the top political offices may be mandated to partake in a compulsory election debate organised by the country’s electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). This is based on a new amendment bill currently sitting in the Nigerian Senate.
According to the Sun Newspaper, the Bill for an Act to amend the Electoral Act, CAP E6, scaled through its second reading in the upper chambers of the House on Thursday, with the hopes of empowering INEC to organise mandatory elections for candidates across the board which, according to the Senate, would help strengthen and boost democracy and the electoral process in Nigeria.
Read on the floor of the Senate in Nigeria for the first time on Tuesday, November 19, 2019, the proposed legislation is sponsored by Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, who represents Oyo North under the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
In his lead the debate, the Senator cited an example of the United States, where it has become customary for the main candidates of the two largest political parties to engage in debates which started in 1960 with Senator John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon. He also explained that the exercise would enable the electorate to understand not only the personality of the candidates but also their lifestyle, beliefs, reaction to national issues and foreign policy, all of which will inform their position during an election.
“Anyone who desires to be Governor or President should be confident enough to lay a detailed analysis of his or her plan before the electorates. This will offer the electorates the avenue to evaluate candidates and they will vote along ideological lines rather than on ethnic or religious allegiance as it is prevailing in our country today.”
Senator Buhari also cited other countries such as Kenya, Ghana, Sierra-Leone and others as African countries who have successfully imbibed the debate culture to ensure transparency in its electoral process.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan and Gombe Senator, Danjuma Goje each cautioned against allowing INEC to conduct the debate as it could probably cause difficulties during and after when the debate winners have been announced in Nigeria.
“Most times, candidates are assessed and awarded marks during these debates. So if INEC is doing that, that means the election has already been determined,” said Senator Goje.
It is imperative to recall that both incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and his main opponent, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), shunned the 2019 electoral debate in Nigeria.
The bill, after scaling second reading, was referred to the Senate Committee on INEC to report back in four weeks.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
