Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for urgent electoral and judicial reforms, warning that democracy in Nigeria is at risk if the judiciary continues to determine electoral outcomes, instead of voters.
In a statement on Thursday, Atiku said while he welcomed the massive turnout of Nigerians for the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration, the same enthusiasm was not translating to high voter participation during elections.
“At the 2023 elections, only 24.9 million Nigerians, representing 26.72 per cent of the 93.47 million registered voters, cast their ballots,” he said. “This is the lowest voter turnout since the return of democracy in 1999.”
Atiku stressed that reversing the decline in voter confidence required a review of key provisions of the Electoral Act.
He cited the need to make the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System and electronic transmission of results mandatory at all levels, without leaving room for manual processes.
“The collation of results must strictly be based on figures uploaded on the INEC Results Viewing Portal rather than manual collation,” Atiku insisted.
He also proposed that the appointment of INEC leadership should be determined through a voting system, not solely by presidential nomination, to ensure credibility.
The former Vice President added that the burden of proof in election petitions should be shifted to INEC, which must show that it complied with the law, rather than placing the responsibility on petitioners.
Quoting legal expert Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Atiku warned against leaving the legitimacy of leadership in the hands of judges.
He recalled Odinkalu’s book ‘ The Selectorate: When Judges Topple the People’, which raised concerns about judges being the ultimate deciders of electoral outcomes.
“The task ahead is to ensure that Nigerians freely choose their leaders at the ballot box without fear that their mandate will be overturned in court,” Atiku said.
The Punch
