From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The flawed conduct of the recent by-elections in Nigeria is not a positive sign for election management as Nigeria inches closer to the 2027 general elections, says the Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA).
NPSA, in its review of the election conducted across 12 states by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), noted that the conduct of elections in the country is still far from meeting acceptable standards.
The group, in a statement by its President, Prof Hassan Saliu, titled ‘2025 by-elections, political parties, and a gaze at the 2027 electoral cycle,’ pointed out that the flawed conduct of the election was evident in the recriminations by political parties that followed after the exercise.
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NPSA, which stated that INEC was not above the fray in the flawed process, lamented that the deployment of technology remains a challenge in the conduct of the country’s elections.
While indicting political parties for their involvement in the flawed process, the group admitted that the power of incumbency is a source of concern in the conduct of elections in Nigeria.
“The country’s political parties have more to learn in conduct, organisation, and in mobilising citizens for robust electoral engagement and turning out en masse on election day. Every INEC chairman has lamented the unedifying role of the registered political parties in the electoral process, which they consider a threat to free and fair elections. Politics is still akin to a ‘war’ for the country’s politicians, wherein morally repressive measures are resorted to swing votes. These were observed during the by-elections. The stakeholders in the electoral process must note this dimension and find a solution to it before the 2027 general elections.
“The power of incumbency is still strong, compelling attention in Nigeria’s elections, by virtue of which incumbents control all coercive instruments of the state at the expense of other political forces. The angle of the new Electoral Act must turn to this development to create a level playing field for the parties and their candidates. The laws of the land are often not respected by the parties and their candidates. The law easily breaks down during elections due to compromise and an inadequate workforce by the security agencies to enforce the law,” it stated.
NPSA, however, declared that the by-elections have only given indications of possible areas of strength and weakness for the political parties, stressing that the victory of any of the parties in the upcoming 2027 elections can only be assured if it demonstrates its readiness to engage with Nigerians by being forthcoming in its programmes to tackle the myriad problems facing the nation.
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