APPRAISING THE DUTIES AND CHALLENGES OF THE INDEPENDENT NATIONAL ELECTORAL COMMISSION (INEC) AS AN UMPIRE IN THE NIGERIAN ELECTORAL PROCESS

Abstract

The electoral system consists of the processes, institutions and legal framework engaged in the conduct of elections to elect persons into the various elective offices. Generally, the processes are carried out in three stages: pre-election, election and post-election stages. This paper is aimed at appraising the duties and challenges of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a regulatory body in the conduct of elections in Nigeria. The doctrinal method is adopted anchored on appraisal and analysis of information gathered from both primary and secondary data. The paper found that electoral malpractices of various forms, shades and dimensions militate against the duties of the Independent National Electoral Commission in the conduct of general elections. The malpractices range from certificate forgery to circumvention of disqualification status of a candidate; making false statement in affidavit submitted to the electoral regulatory body; non-compliance with the electoral laws, and rigging. It is recommended that the 37 state-wide voters’ registers be merged into one public document that is challengeable in whole. The legal framework particularly, the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) should be further amended to strengthen INEC’s independence to enable the Commission carry out its duties free from political influence. There have been some attempts by the successive governments since the county’s independence to introduce a measure of electoral reforms into the electoral system. These attempts have not manifestly yielded the desired improvements in the electoral process. The paper, having explored a jurisprudential exposition of the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) prospects a reformed process that conditions a free and fair election. The merger of the states-wide voters register, the unfettered independent INEC, the cooperative application of the electronic voting system, the smart card reader machine and other innovative mechanisms such as independent candidacy is an assured way to strengthening our electoral system to erode the prevailing travesty of democracy.