Weeks after the world witnessed the hotly contested US Presidential elections, Nigeria seems to be gearing up for the 2023 general elections with notes from its American counterparts.
The 2020 US Presidential elections will go down in history as one of the most controversial moments in political history. While polling numbers and figures from the Electoral College have pointed to Democratic Candidate, Joe Biden as the election’s clear winner, the Republican candidate, and outgoing President Donald Trump has remained adamant in not accepting defeat, causing the election process to drag.
Notwithstanding, this election also heralded a new era of change as evidenced by a political awakening that saw a record number of voters despite an ongoing pandemic, as well as strengthened institutions ensuring that each vote counts.
As Nigeria prepares for its next major trip to the polls in 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – Nigeria’s official election’s umpire – has revealed plans to borrow a page from the recent US elections, going through the successes achieved, as well as challenges it encountered.
Speaking in an interview with ThisDay, the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, who is currently acting as the chairman of the commission revealed that the Commission plans to work “assiduously to transform and build the commission to an institution that can run professionally and ethically and in the best interest of the Nigerian people.”
What Has The Commission Learned?
Providing clarity on some of the notes the Commission has taken from the US polls, Okoye said: “The commission has a lot to learn from and has learned a lot from the United States presidential election. The first lesson is that the people must take ownership of the electoral process and develop strong institutions to protect and support it. The second lesson is that the nation comes first and the political preferences and affiliation of some of the state actors’ pales into significance when the democratic and electoral process is concerned.”
“The third lesson is that democracy and the electoral process is a work in process and each country must continue to work on it and nurture it. The fourth lesson is that advanced democracies can experience storms based on the political practices and actions of some of the operators but what is important is that the democratic process has shock absorbers to absorb challenges and proffer solutions.
“The fifth is that nations must design their electoral process to suit their circumstances both geographically, historically, and culturally. The sixth is that the American electoral system is anchored on the principle of voluntarism and this is the base of mandate protection,” Okoye explained.
Opposition Echoes The Same Sentiment
Similarly, the leading opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in a statement following the US elections called on President Muhammadu Buhari to curb nepotism in government and focus on building strong institutions independent of the ruling party.
“Our institutions of democracy including the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies were brazenly manipulated by the APC in the 2019 elections, the United States experience strengthens the determination by Nigerians to stand up against such manipulations ahead of 2023,” the statement read.
“The PDP, therefore, calls on all Nigerians including compatriots in INEC, the judiciary, the legislature, security forces, faith-based organizations, the media, civil society groups, and other political parties to join forces with our party in the quest to reposition and strengthen our institutions for the task ahead.”
Nigeria will head to the polls for the next general elections in February 2023.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral and political reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
