ELECTORAL REFORMS IN NIGERIA: REPLACING AD HOC TRIBUNALS WITH ELECTORAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL COURTS

Abstract

This article reviewed the innovations and implication of the key provisions of the new Electoral Act. It recommended a further amendment of the Electoral Act to include the introduction of permanent electoral court or constitutional court in the judicial system to replace the ad hoc electoral tribunals. It is pertinent to recall that the Electoral Decree 1977 introduced the use of Election Petition Tribunals which replaced the use of regular courts which were hitherto vested with the powers to settle electoral disputes. It is trite that Nigeria has witnessed many elections since Independence in 1960. Even during the interregna by the military, elections were conducted with the aim of installing an ideal democratic governance. The various governments had experimented on different electoral system to the point of an experiment on diarchy by the administration of military President Ibrahim Babangida. The regime of General Sani Abacha even attempted a transmutation from military to civilian governance. The effort died with him. The various Electoral Acts provided the legal and institutional framework for the conduct of these electoral experiments and elections. The electoral process is an ideal and integral part of the democratic process, whether in developed climes or developing nations. A malfunctioning electoral system would certainly usher in undemocratic ideals which will inadvertently lead to maladministration and bad governance. Nigeria has made various changes to laws governing elections in the country with the Electoral Act amended severally to reflect the whims and wishes of the electorates and sometimes that of the establishment. The latest in line of such amendments is the Electoral Act 2022 signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari. It was birthed under a somewhat controversial circumstance on the 25th of February, 2022.