Voter education and enlightenment for women and youths (I)

Posted: Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Recently Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (Kadsiecom) with the support of United Nations Development Programme (Undp), Kadsg/Undaf Ii Programme organised a workshop in Zaria.
Training Manual Prepared By:
• Lead consultant: Nicholas Dosumu
• Other Consultants:
– Emeritus Prof. A. Faniran
– Bar. J.D. Olaniyan
– Bar. Wale Ogunade
– Prof. A.J. Kumuyi
– Mrs. B. Ajayi
– Bar (Mrs) Christy Karik

Definition of election
• The process of choosing candidates for offices in organizations by the votes of those enfranchised to vote.
• The choice may be indicated on or by the ballot forms themselves—e.g., colored balls (hence the term ballot, which is derived from the Italian ballotta.
Definition of election (Contd)
• It is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses individuals to hold public offices.
• It has been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century.
• It may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, at all levels of government.
• It is used in many other private and business organizations, from clubs to voluntary associations and corporations.
Types of election
General election, Re-run election, Run-off election, Bye-election, Referendum, Plebiscite and Recall.
Types of election
General election:
– vote of entire country
– an election in which the citizens of a country or state vote to elect representatives of most or all constituencies to a legislative body.
• Re-run election:
– An election that is conducted on the order of the court of competent jurisdiction following a decision that the initial election was inconclusive
• Run-off election:
– An election conducted within stipulated period (7 days) in default of a candidate being elected.
– an election held between official general or local elections to fill a vacant seat, e.g. to replace a member of a legislature or a LG council member who has died or resigned.
 Types of election
• Bye-election:
– mid-term election
– an election held between official general or local elections to fill a vacant seat, e.g. to replace a member of a legislature or a LG council member who has died or resigned
• Referendum:
– vote by whole population on issue
– a vote by the whole of an electorate on a specific question or questions put to it by a government or similar
• Plebiscite:
– vote of all citizens (a whole electorate) to decide a question/issue of importance.
– a public expression of the will or opinion of a whole community on an issue.
• Recall:
– Process of recalling an elected representative for non-performance
Suffrage
• The question of who may vote is a central issue in elections.
• The electorate does not generally include the entire population; for example, many countries prohibit those judged mentally incompetent from voting, and all jurisdictions require a minimum age for voting.
• Suffrage is only for citizens of a country, though further limitations may be imposed.
• In Nigeria, one can vote in any election if one lives in the country, is a Nigerian citizen and is duly registered by the authorized body.
Definition of electoral system
Method and rules of conducting elections, including the counting of the votes cast to determine the outcome of the elections.
• Winners may be determined by:
– a plurality of votes
– a majority (more than 50% of the vote)
– an extraordinary majority (a percentage of the vote greater than 50%)
– unanimity.
• Candidates for public office may be elected directly or indirectly.
• Proportional representation is used in some countries to ensure a fairer distribution of legislative seats to constituencies that may be denied representation under the plurality or majority formulas.
It is a system of constituting representative bodies of the government.
• The electoral system is an important element in the political system of a state.
• The electoral process is normally regulated by legal norms that,taken as a whole, form electoral law and the electoral right.
Electoral system
• Electoral systems are the detailed constitutional arrangements and voting systems that convert the vote into political decision – institutions/bodies.
• The first step is to tally the votes, for which various different vote counting systems and ballot types are used.
• Voting systems then determine the result on the basis of the tally.
• While openness and accountability are usually considered cornerstones of a democratic system, the act of casting a vote and the content of a voter's ballot are usually an important exception.
Electoral system (Contd.)
• The nature of democracy is such that elected officials are accountable to the people, and they must return to the voters at prescribed intervals to seek the mandate to continue in office, for that reason most democratic constitutions provide that elections are held at fixed regular intervals.
• In Nigeria, elections are held every two, three or four years, depending on the level and the operative law/regulation.
• Pre-determined or fixed election dates have the advantage of fairness and predictability.
• However, they tend to greatly lengthen campaigns, and make dissolving the legislature (parliamentary system) more problematic if the date should happen to fall at a time when dissolution is inconvenient due to unforeseen situations within the country.
• Elections in Nigeria are usually held on one day usually on a Saturday for each level of office.
Types of electoral system
There are three types of electoral systems:
• Proportional representation
• Simple plurality/majority
• Electoral college
The system practiced in Nigeria is the simple plurality/majority.
Guiding Principles of Electoral Systems
• Representation
• Transparency
• Inclusiveness
The electoral process
• The electoral process is the manner in which electors (voters) are organized into constituencies to elect representatives from a line up of candidates
• It is a vital aspect of a political democracy.
• The participants who interact in the process are the:
– appointed election officials
– registered political parties
– candidates and their respective election personnel – voting public and the media.
The electoral process (contd)
• The electoral process includes:
– setting the date of elections (in Nigeria, this is the prerogative of electoral body)
– registering voters according to the procedures established by law –– organizing electoral wards and constituencies.
• These units are formed in accordance with the principles of representation (such as territorial, national, or production-unit bases).
• Electoral precincts and polling places are also established.
The electoral process (contd)
• Election legislation, including any regulations, prescribed election forms, electoral processes and procedures and electoral financing, primarily defines the electoral process.
• In Nigeria, The Electoral Act, 2006 (currently being reviewed by the National Assembly), governs the application of electoral rules. This Act is the authoritative source and the constant reference point behind the execution of key events in the election process.
• According to the Act, the Independent National Electoral Commission was established by Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution as a body corporate with perpetual succession and may sue and be sued in its corporate name.
• Section 197 of the 1999 Constitution establishes the State Independent Electoral Commissions.
Party Agents
• These are representatives of political parties at the polling stations.
• Although not election officials, they are entitled to:
– observe
– comment and report on the process of the voting and counting
– require any elector to take a written declaration of entitlement to vote before being given a ballot.
• Their role is crucial to maintaining public confidence in the fairness of the electoral process and of the result.
• Such appointments must be made in writing by the candidate and or his party to the Electoral Body.
• He must be an eligible voter
• He must be present to represent the party at the polling locations.
Concept of voters registration
• An essential element of any electoral system is the identification of eligible voters.
• In Nigeria, a qualified voter must be:
– eighteen years of age or more
– a Nigerian citizen on or before voting day,.
• Persons convicted prior to voting, as defined in The Electoral Act, are ineligible to be voted for.
Voters registration (contd.)
• One of the functions of INEC according to paragraph 15(e) part 1 of the third schedule of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is to:
• arrange and conduct the registration of persons qualified to vote and prepare, maintain and revise the register of voters for the purpose of any election.
• The National Voters Register is the list of names of eligible persons that can vote and are duly registered for the purpose of voting in any Federal, State or Local Government election.
Voters registration (Contd.)
The register must contain the following information about the voter:
• The principal name and any other such by which the person is usually known.
• Regular address which must include name of street, village or town.
• Other information such as age, sex, occupation etc.
Political parties
• The Constitution prescribes the formation of political parties.
• Parties are registered political associations of people, who adopt a political programme with which they campaign in order to win and form the government.
• A political party can be defined as a group of people who share common principles about the management of their affairs, with common principles about the management of their affairs, with the aim of capturing political power in a given polity. A political party functions as an agency of political participation and political mobilization which aggregates demand and aspirations of its members.
• In Nigeria, it is only political parties that are recognized to canvass for votes, or contribute to the election expenses of any candidate at an election.