With Nigeria’s most important election less than 24 hours away, many people worry about vote-buying and the effect it would have on the election.
What is vote-buying?
Vote buying is an economic exchange between an electoral candidate and the electorate in which the candidate pays the voter an amount of money or any other material benefit in exchange for their vote. The purpose of vote-buying is to seek electoral patronage through financial or other material exchanges. This makes it impossible for elections to be free and fair, threatens democracy, and also casts aspersions on the legitimacy of government.
Vote-buying in Nigerian History
Vote buying has been in existence from time immemorial, and it has been a disturbing feature of the Nigerian electoral system. Moshood Abiola and his NRC rival, Bahir Tofa, were both accused of vote-buying in the annulled 1993 election.
Vote-buying occurs not only on election day but also during primaries, when representatives are swayed to select candidates after their pockets have been stuffed with money.
Instances Where Vote-buying Has Occurred.
In the 2022 governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States in western Nigeria, voters were wooed by party agents with inducement offers ranging from N3,000 to N10,000 (up to about US$24).
Less than 24 hours before the 2023 general elections, the Rivers state police command arrested a house of representatives member on alleged suspicion for money laundering and vote buying
Ahead of the 2023 elections, delegates were paid thousands of dollars in the primaries conducted in 2022 to influence them to vote for one or two candidates.
Can Vote-buying be Reduced?
It is well known that political actors withdraw large sums of money near election time, and attempts have been made to reduce the menace that vote-buying is. A good example is the recent move by the incumbent president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who announced a change in currency design and a ban on the circulation of old notes, causing a massive currency crunch and a lag in the economic process. The president was said to have intended the change in currency design to curb vote-buying in the coming election.
Other ways of reducing vote-buying are:
- Privileges associated with public office should be significantly reduced.
- Political parties should control the abusive influence of money in their candidate selection processes.
- The police must also shun partisanship and be empowered to carry out their duties without fear or favour.
- The electorate should be encouraged to shun all forms of partisan inducements.
- The electoral commission must ensure that the way in which polls are set up supports secret ballot voting.
What the Law Says About Vote-Buying
The Electoral Act 2022 has prescribed a penalty of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of 12 months or both for any person guilty of vote buying, including the voter who allows his vote to be bought.
We understand that the economic situation in the country is dire, but ending up in jail for selling your vote for N10,000 is not what you want on election day. Resist selling your vote. Remember, your vote is your right.