Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, to withdraw the bill, which contains provisions to jail any Nigerian of voting age for six months or impose a fine of N100,000 for failure to vote in national and state elections.
SERAP urged Akpabio and Abbas to, instead, amend the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and the Electoral Act 2022 to remove constitutional immunity from state governors and their deputies who commit electoral offences, including vote-buying, to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators.
The organisation also urged Akpabio and Abbas to amend the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act to prohibit the appointment of members of any political party as resident electoral commissioners (RECs) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
In a letter at the weekend, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said jailing eligible Nigerians for deciding not to vote would be entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations.
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According to SERAP, the most effective way to solve the perennial voter apathy is to create a safe and conducive environment, combat the impunity of high-ranking politicians who commit electoral offences, and generally improve the electoral process to encourage the citizens to come out to vote and not to send them to jail.
“Should the National Assembly fail to drop the bill prescribing a six-month jail term for eligible Nigerians, who decide not to vote in national and state elections, and should any such bill be assented to by President Bola Tinubu, SERAP would consider appropriate legal action to challenge the legality of any such law and ensure they are never implemented.
“The idea of compulsory voting and jailing citizens for not voting is impracticable, unnecessary and unlawful. The right to vote is part of citizens’ right to participate in their government, and the choice of whether to exercise it is personal,” SERAP stated.
It suggested that any amendment of the Nigerian Constitution and the Electoral Act must include bills to address and punish governors and their deputies and their agents committing electoral offences, including voter suppression, voter intimidation and the destruction of polling units or theft of election materials.
