[{"bbox": [83, 104, 1147, 426], "category": "Text", "text": "It is important to note that major reforms have since been recorded in the legal and administrative framework governing the electoral process. Recent attempts by the electoral management body to promote electoral transparency and improve transparency in the result collation process by deploying technology through the result viewing portal has been most welcome. The introduction of a continuous voter registration system, where eligible citizens are able to register to vote throughout the electoral cycle, is also considered a positive step. A new legal framework is currently being considered by the National Assembly, although there have been attempts to step down one of its progressive elements on introducing new voting technologies which will significantly improve the result collation and transmission process, considered to be one of the weakest links in electoral administration in Nigeria. However, challenges remain, including a lack of adequate regulation for party primaries, inadequate legal enforcement to sanction non-compliance of political parties with campaign finance regulation and a lack of specific provision for organising voting for categories of voters including election duty staff, credited media and domestic observers and security personnel on election duty."}, {"bbox": [83, 448, 1147, 637], "category": "Text", "text": "INEC organised two off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States in September and October 2020 respectively which were adjudged to be fair and transparent by stakeholders and a huge improvement on the Bayelsa and Kogi governorship elections held in 2019, which were marred with violence and uncertainty. The 2020 elections were the first major elections organised by INEC within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. While there was some non-adherence to the COVID-19 protocols, it is important that INEC was able to conduct these elections to prevent a constitutional crisis. Effort should be sustained to ensure that the electoral processes are not undermined by the pandemic in the future."}, {"bbox": [83, 660, 1147, 1111], "category": "Text", "text": "The political personnel and political parties need to be supported to ensure democratic consolidation in Nigeria. They often do not have clear ideologies, are not inclusive enough (women, youth and persons with disabilities are largely underrepresented) and have limited internal democracy mechanisms in place. There is also a tendency to disregard party rules and electoral guidelines and regulations. Parties are often perceived as electoral machines to pursue personal ambitions and therefore do not aggregate politicians and members based on a well-articulated ideology or set of policies. As a result, party affiliations are often changing, with many politicians changing parties easily for political gain. This significantly erodes the opportunities for issue based politics and, in turn, higher voter turnout in elections and the involvement in politics of a wider part of the population interested in the general interest. The use of violence and intimidation to weaken opposition is common as well as vote buying and stealing of votes. Apart from the issues facing political parties in Nigeria, the country's electoral democracy itself remains work in progress and more capacity is required to strengthen a number of other democratic institutions – i.e. mainly the legislature, judiciary, civil society and the media – to engage effectively and meaningfully with the electoral process, thereby contributing to democratic consolidation in the country. The legislature, which was the first casualty of the military rule in Nigeria, can be strengthened in relation to the executive and the judiciary. The role of the legislature is critical for democratic development and consolidation. Although the judiciary in Nigeria has been widely criticized for lack of independence and slow adjudication of electoral disputes, it remained a bulwark for the enforcement of the rule of law."}, {"bbox": [83, 1138, 1147, 1274], "category": "Text", "text": "Civic participation in the electoral process remains a major challenge, demonstrated in increased voter apathy and decrease in turnout with every successive general election. The large-scale youth protests against police brutality at the end of 2020, under the #EndSARS, also highlighted the risks of a growing schism between young people and decision makers. Yet, it equally demonstrated a strong appeal for democracy and security which represents an opportunity."}, {"bbox": [83, 1297, 1147, 1379], "category": "Text", "text": "Of particular concern are the targeted attacks on offices and assets of INEC nationwide. The spate of attacks in the first half of 2021 has raised significant apprehensions on the ability of INEC to conduct the Anambra governorship election scheduled for November 2021 and the 2023 general election in the South-East region."}, {"bbox": [83, 1403, 1147, 1538], "category": "Text", "text": "In order to strengthen electoral administration and build trust and confidence of all stakeholders in the political process, periodic revisions of the administrative and legal frameworks governing the conduct of elections are undertaken. A new round of electoral reform process was introduced by the National Assembly in 2020 but has not been concluded yet. As a result, there is a risk that INEC will not be ready to implement all the new - and positive - electoral provisions on time for the 2023 general elections."}, {"bbox": [1051, 1662, 1158, 1687], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 6 of 29"}]