An International Development Company, DAI, has launched a European Union (EU)- funded analytic study highlighting the challenges faced by state independent electoral commissions (SIECs) in fulfilling their statutory mandate to conduct local elections in Nigeria.
The study titled “The state of the State Independent Electoral Commissions in Nigeria,” identified several opportunities for reform and improvement, especially in the context of the Supreme Court judgment regarding funding and democratic elections in Local Government Councils, which has led to several local government elections being held since July 2024.
Speaking during the study’s official launch and presentation, Ruben Aguilera, team leader for Governance, Peace and Migration at the EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, explained that local elections are the most important because they are closest to the people.
“Today, we’ve come together for one of the activities of one of the EU’s flagship programmes – the EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU-SDGN). We would like to see local elections being conducted everywhere in Nigeria, so people can actually choose their local representatives, making sure that they are also closer to the people and can be held accountable.
“This way, they (Local Government Chairmen and Councillors) can bring solutions to people’s problems, including health, education, and others.”
Aguilera reiterated the EU’s commitment to supporting the strengthening and improvement of local elections and local democracy in Nigeria, Aguilera said, “There is a window of opportunity now because there is a Constitutional reform process ongoing and we will continue to support this process by strengthening platforms of civic engagement.”
In his remarks, the chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, highlighted the importance of local government elections and noted that if the country does not get it right at the local government level, it is unlikely to get it right at the top.
Therefore, he commended the efforts of DAI, which received funding support from the EU, in developing the analytic study on the state of SIECs in Nigeria.
He said, “The SIECs and INEC are creations of the Constitution. But the Constitution saddles the SIECs with the responsibility for conducting local government elections. The Constitution at the same time saddles INEC with the responsibility of conducting national and state elections. While INEC conducts elections at all levels, the SIECs only conduct local government elections.
“To this extent, INEC has been interfacing with the SIECs for a long period of time, to the extent that there is a forum called FOSIECON, and we have been meeting with them.
“I have noticed that there has not been any serious study on the conduct of local government elections by the SIECs. I am excited by what DAI has done, and I’m excited that the EU-SDGN is supporting this initiative.”
In his address, DAI’s team lead, Rudolf Elbling, noted that free, fair, and credible local government elections are the foundation of a functioning democracy at the grassroots level, as local government elections help to build strong, responsive, and accountable institutions that can effectively serve the community on the local level.
“This study has the objective to investigate the impediments and difficulties SIECs face to organise credible local government elections and produce recommendations for national and international stakeholders for cooperation and support, especially the National Assembly, State Assemblies, INEC, and international partners.
“Local governments play a critical role in addressing the everyday needs of citizens, such as infrastructure, education, and healthcare. Fair elections ensure that the best candidates, who understand the local issues and have the community’s best interests at heart, are elected.”
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