Direct election is a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the persons or political party that they want to see elected. By contrast, in an indirect election, the voters elect a body which in turn elects the officeholder in question. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the electoral system used.
Elections in Nigeria involve choosing representatives for the federal government of Nigeria as well as the various states in the Fourth Nigerian Republic. Elections in Nigeria are held in all tiers of the government. It's a method of choosing leaders for which the citizens have the right to vote and to be voted for. In 2023, Nigerians were getting ready for presidential elections with about 93.4 million eligible voters across the federation.
Nigerians elect a President of Nigeria to act as head of state. The winner must have the highest number of votes and at least 25% in each of two thirds of the states and the capital territory. At the same time voters elect the Nigerian National Assembly which acts as the legislature. The National Assembly has two chambers: the House of Representatives, with 360 members, each elected for a four-year term in single-seat constituencies, and the Senate, with 109 members, elected for a four-year term.
Nigeria has a multi-party system, with two or three strong parties and a third party that is electorally successful. From 2003 to 2019, 503 elections were annulled and rerun in Nigeria.
Elections in Nigeria began in 1959 with several political parties.
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Simplifying The Complex Aspect Of Nigeria’s Electoral Process | Election 101
Stages of Election in Nigeria
There are several stages and activities that are involved when conducting elections in Nigeria. These stages range from the pre-election to the result declaration. The success of any election conducted in Nigeria is dependent on effective planning. The INEC is constitutionally required to conduct elections in Nigeria.
Pre-Election Stage
This stage involves candidate of political parties presenting their manifesto to the general public. Before the general election, all persons qualified to vote are called upon to register themselves, and only those who are duly registered can vote. The age criteria to register as an eligible voter is 18 years and above.
Primary
At the primary’s stage, the aspirants seeking to run for a political office through a platform of a political party shall face both the parties’ screening and primary elections. The party members will elect one aspirant, each among others contesting for the same position or office through the same political party.
Nominations
This stage involves each electoral political party nominating a candidate who would be the forerunner of the election.
Campaigning
This stage involves the electoral political parties and their nominated candidate campaigning actively for the support and votes of the general public. The INEC usually schedules the campaigning periods.
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Accreditation
The INEC regulations states that the method of voting shall be by the Continuous Accreditation and Voting Systems (CAVS) procedure. According to the procedural system, no person will be allowed to vote at any polling unit other than the persons whose names appear on the register.
At 8:00 am, the Presiding officer will declare the polling unit open for accreditation and voting. The accreditation process involves reading the permanent Voters Card (PCV) and the authentication of the voter’s fingerprint.
Producing Ballot Papers and other Polling Material
This election stage involves the Commission producing the ballot boxes, papers, and other materials to be used to conduct the election effectively. The ballot papers and boxes are printed and tagged with INEC, and they will be used by voters to cast their votes on election day.
Voting
Voting days in Nigeria are usually during the weekends, especially Saturdays. Under the current electoral law, election to the office of the President and Vice-President as well as National Assembly shall hold first, while election to the office of the Governor and Deputy Governor and State House of Assembly shall hold two (2) weeks after that. This is to ensure that opportunity is created for a rerun if need be.
The polling units for voting are declared open, usually by 8 am, or 10 am in some voting centers. The polling officials appointed by INEC will be at the various units to conduct the election.
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Collation or counting the votes
This is one of the crucial stages in the election process. In this stage, after successful voting, the ballots are counted, tabulated, and summarized at every polling center by the INEC Officials. Votes are counted differently for each candidate at every polling unit. The candidate who wins the majority of the votes after a scrutinized counting will be declared the winner.
Result Declaration
This is the final stage of an election process. After the successful counting of the votes cast, the candidate and party with the highest votes will be officially announced by INEC officials. The announcement of the result is a mandatory requirement of the electoral process.
Historical Context of Elections in Nigeria
Presidential elections were held on 27 February, 1999. The 2007 general was held on 14 April where governorship and state assembly representatives were elected. A week later, on 21 April, the presidential and national assembly elections took place. Following the presidential election, groups monitoring the election gave it a dismal assessment.
A parliamentary election was held on 9 April, 2011.
The 2015 general elections were originally scheduled to be held on 14 February but was later postponed to 28 March (presidential, senatorial, and House of Representatives) and 11 April 2015 (governorship and state house of assembly). General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress emerged as the winner of the presidential elections and was sworn in on 29 May 2015. The 2015 election was a success because there were tensions everywhere concerning the difficult political and security environment of the country at that time. However, It was the first time in the history of Nigeria that an incumbent president lost an election.
Presidential and National Assembly elections were scheduled for 16 February 2019, while state and local government elections were scheduled for 2 March 2019. President Muhammadu Buhari was re-elected for another four-year term. The primary contender was former vice-president Atiku Abubakar of the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Kingsley Moghalu of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Yele Sowore of the African Action Congress (AAC), and Fela Durotoye of the Alliance for a New Nigeria (ANN) were other popular candidates who were all relatively young.
Direct Presidential Elections: A Global Perspective
The first major European country to use direct elections was France (1848). However, if no candidate received a majority of the vote the National Assembly chose the winner from the top five candidates. Germany (the Weimar Republic) was the first European country to use direct election of a president without intervention by the legislature.
The European Parliament has been directly elected every five years since 1979. Many African nations have moved from parliamentary to presidential systems. The overwhelming majority of democracies in Asia are parliamentary, rather than presidential systems.
A common political debate, particularly as countries consider governmental reforms, is whether or not direct elections of heads of state strengthen democratic practices among citizens.
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