Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has outlined nine important conditions that President Bola Tinubu’s government must fulfill to restore public confidence in Nigeria’s elections and strengthen the country’s democracy ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In a statement shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, Atiku praised Nigerians for their enthusiasm in the ongoing Permanent Voter Card (PVC) registration exercise. However, he warned that credible elections require far-reaching electoral and judicial reforms.
Atiku expressed concern over the low voter turnout in the 2023 general elections. He noted that only about 24.9 million of the 93.47 million registered voters participated in the polls. This figure represents just 26.72 per cent, the lowest voter turnout since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999.
He warned that without urgent reforms, the public’s trust in the democratic process will continue to decline, leading to increased voter apathy and skepticism about election fairness.
Atiku also cited views from Professor Chidi Odinkalu, author of the book The Selectorate, who argued that election outcomes in Nigeria are increasingly decided by judges rather than voters. This shift, Atiku suggested, undermines the very essence of democracy.
To tackle these challenges, Atiku listed nine conditions that he said the Tinubu administration must meet before the 2027 elections:
-Mandatory use of BVAS (Bimodal Voter Accreditation System) for voter accreditation and uploading of election results at all polling and collation centres.
-Mandatory electronic transmission of election results to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s iREV portal, with no option for manual submission.
-Ward-level collation of election results strictly based on electronically transmitted figures.
-Local Government-level collation based strictly on electronically transmitted ward results.
-State-level collation based strictly on electronically transmitted local government results.
-National collation based strictly on electronically transmitted state results.
-Ban on manual accreditation, transmission, and collation of results at all levels.
Democratic election of key INEC officials, including the INEC Chairman, Resident Electoral Commissioners, and National Commissioners, through voting by the Nigerian people.
Shifting the burden of proof in election petitions to INEC to show substantial compliance with the Electoral Act and the Constitution.
Atiku argued that these reforms would help return power to the people and reduce the influence of powerful interests that currently manipulate election outcomes.
He said: “Implementing these reforms will help guarantee free, fair, and credible elections, which are essential for Nigeria’s democratic growth. Without them, our democracy will continue to weaken.”
Nigeria’s elections have faced repeated challenges, including allegations of vote rigging, violence, and manipulation of results. The 2023 elections, though widely praised in some quarters, still recorded low voter turnout and raised questions about transparency in parts of the country.
The use of technology like BVAS was introduced to enhance transparency, but concerns remain over manual interference at various stages of the electoral process.
Atiku’s call for electronic transmission of results at all levels aims to eliminate the possibility of tampering during collation.
One of Atiku’s more controversial demands is the direct election of INEC’s key officials by Nigerians, instead of appointments by the executive arm of government. This, he argues, would insulate the electoral body from political influence and increase public trust.
Additionally, shifting the burden of proof to INEC in election disputes is meant to hold the commission accountable for conducting elections in line with the law.
