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2007 Assessment

Nigeria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Nigeria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Election Integrity
Indicators		Score
17	In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?	100
18	Is the election monitoring agency effective?	50
19	Are elections systems transparent and effective?	58

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

17: In law, is there an election monitoring agency or set of election monitoring agencies/entities?

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: 1. Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Third Schedule Part F, 1999 Federal Constitution

Is the election monitoring agency effective?

18a: In law, the agency or set of agencies/entities is protected from political interference.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: 1. Third Schedule Part F, 1999 Constitution

Peer Review Comments: The INEC is not protected from political interference as all its members are appointed by the government in power. It budget also has to be approved by the government (political party) in power. This scenario has led to call for a truly independent electoral body. This call clearly led to the setting up of an electoral reform committee by the present administration

18b: In practice, agency (or set of agencies/entities) appointments are made that support the independence of the agency.

Score:

100

Comments: The Independent National Electoral Commission is a federal executive body established in accordance with the provisions of section 153 of the constitution. The appointment of the chairman and National Electoral commissioners is also governed by the provisions of section 153 and section 14 of the Third Schedule to the constitution. The lacuna in section 156(1)(a) requiring such persons to posses the same qualifications as a member of the House of Representatives has led to the appointment of card-carrying members of political parties as chairpersons and members of the Electoral Commission. These card-carrying members of parties have influenced activities in favor of their party.

References: 1. Olufunto Akinduro, program manager, the Electoral Reform Network (ERN), ERN's office, Aug. 14, 2007 2. Press Conference Statement by the Electoral Act Observatory Team of the Electoral Reform Network on the Level of Compliance with the 2006 Electoral Act and Proposals for Constitutional and Electoral Reform, page 4, May 2007

Peer Review Comments: Yes, in practice appointments are made that support agency independence.

18c: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities has a professional, full-time staff.

Score:

100

Comments: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reportedly has spent the 6.45 billion naira (US$54.2 million) for the payment of Ad hoc staff who participated in the just concluded April general elections as elections officers. The Commission mostly relies on ad-hoc staff for conducting elections and this affects the quality of the elections.

References: 1. Olufunto Akinduro, program manager, the Electoral Reform Network (ERN), ERN's office, Aug. 14, 2007; 2."INEC Expends Six Billion Naira On AD Hoc Staff" Nneka Eluogu May 13, 2007 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) agency has both regular and ad hoc staff. Both are recruited based on relevant qualifications and skill, although there are sometimes lapses in the discharge of their responsibilities.

18d: In practice, the agency or set of agencies/entities makes timely, publicly available reports following an election cycle.

Score:

100

Comments: The Electoral Body rarely makes any official reports, except press statements in newspapers and media outlets. These reports are very contentious and contain contrary things to the real situation on the ground.

18e: In practice, when necessary, the agency or set of agencies/entities imposes penalties on offenders.

Score:

100

Comments: The Commission proved powerless in enforcing the provisions of sections 92-93 of the Electoral Act relating to the contributions to political parties and limitations on campaign expenses, as there was no significant improvement in the influence of money in the 2007 electoral process compared with past elections. It also did not enforce the provisions of sections 96-98 of the Act relating to the acceptable conduct at rallies and processions and the use of force or violence during campaigns. Throughout the campaigns, we observed that there was use of abusive language and private security personnel by politicians; yet the Commission failed to invoke the provisions of section 97 of the Act.

Are elections systems transparent and effective?

19a: In practice, there is a clear and transparent system of voter registration.

Score:

100

Comments: For the 2007 elections, INEC started the voter registration process late and introduced the direct data capture machine for the first time. These machines were grossly inadequate at the beginning, broke down because of power failure and INEC's staff was mostly untrained to use them. This affected the number of eligible voters who could register for the elections. The voter list was displayed late with no time for complaints and revisions.

References: 1. "2007 Nigerian National Elections Pre-Election Assessment Final Report", pages 8-9 The International Republican Institute (IRI) ww.iri.org 2. Olufunto Akinduro, program manager, the Electoral Reform Network (ERN), ERN's office, Aug. 14, 2007

Peer Review Comments: The April 2007 election clearly showed a lack of transparency.

19b: In law, election results can be contested through the judicial system.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: 1. Part IX, the 2006 Electoral Act 2. Section 285, 1999 Federal Constitution

19c: In practice, election results can be effectively appealed through the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: In the period under review, there have been judgements by higher courts on the standard of election petitions.

19d: In practice, the military and security forces remain neutral during elections.

Score:

100

Comments: In the April 2007 general elections, the security forces worked largely in favor of the ruling party (PDP) intimidating opposition and aiding rigging.

References: 1. Nigeria: Failed Elections, Failing State?, pages 4-5 Crisis Group Africa Report N°126, May 30, 2007 [ LINK ]; 2. Olufunto Akinduro, program manager, the Electoral Reform Network (ERN), ERN's office, Aug. 14, 2007

19e: In law, domestic and international election observers are allowed to monitor elections.

Score:

YES

Comments: The Act does not specifically say there must be observers, but makes mention of persons allowed in the polling booths to include observers.

References: 1. Section 62(1), Electoral Act 2006

19f: In practice, election observers are able to effectively monitor elections.

Score:

100

$Scoring Criteria :: 100 Score Criteria: Election observers have unfettered access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters themselves. The government does not interfere with the observers\' activities. <p>50 Score Criteria: Election observers generally have access to polling sites, counting stations, and voters but encounter restrictions in certain areas. The government may impose burdensome regulatory or bureaucratic requirements on observers to discourage their involvement. <p>0 Score Criteria: Election observers\' movements are significantly limited by the government and many polling and counting sites are restricted or barred from observers. The government imposes so many bureaucratic or regulatory burdens on the observers that their mission is rendered ineffective.$

Comments: In the process leading to the general elections, the federal electoral coordinating body INEC said there would not be monitors but observers in the elections. It imposed stringent conditions for registrations. Many local CSOs were refused accreditations, especially those very critical of INEC. The State Security Service was also used to "screen" groups that wanted accreditations, a process that many criticized as intimidations.

References: 1. Emma Ezeazu, executive secretary Alliance for Credible Elections, ACE's Office in Abuja, Aug. 16 2007; 2. Olufunto Akinduro, program manager the Electoral Reform Network (ERN), ERN's office, Aug. 14, 2007