AN APPRAISAL OF THE APPLICATION OF THE AFRICAN CHARTER ON DEMOCRACY, ELECTIONS AND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The involvement of people of a state or polity in decision making and the state of affairs of a Government is the unique feature of democracy. The African Union (AU) joined the international community in recognizing democracy as the most acceptable system of government and thus, in 2007 adopted the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance. Prior to the inception of the charter on democracy, Nigeria has been operating democratic governance since 1999. However, corruption, insincerity of purpose and lack of accountability characterize most of the Nigerian political leaders. Political parties which are among the key players in smooth conduct of democratic elections in Nigeria are in most cases undemocratic in their nominations of candidates due to the lack of proper monitoring by the electoral body (INEC) whose independence is also not absolute. Now that Nigeria has signed and ratified the Charter on Democracy, the objective of this paper is to examine the roles of various democratic institutions and stakeholders whose role is paramount in the conduct of Democratic Elections in Nigeria with a view to determine whether or not they are in consonance with the Charter on Democracy. The   final objective of the paper is to evaluate the performance of Nigerian democratic government in the promotion of Elections and to suggest other possible ways of promoting good governance. The research is doctrinal and therefore documented sources were consulted and analyzed. Previous authors in the area have attempted to discuss democratic elections and constitutional democracy in Nigeria. However, the topic of democratic elections in Nigeria under the Charter on Democracy was not addressed satisfactorily. Therefore, this paper aimed to bridge this gap in order to accomplish the previously mentioned objectives. The research found that provisions of the Charter on Democracy will bring about peace and political stability in Africa. It has also found that the independence of the electoral body (INEC) in Nigeria is not absolute regarding its funding and appointment of its chairman. It was finally found that internal democracy is missing in most of the political parties in Nigeria when it comes to nomination of candidate that will be a flag bearer in general elections. It is recommended that Nigeria being a state party to the Charter on Democracy should domesticate and implement its provision with view to having peace and political stability. INEC should have absolute independence in all regards particularly in relation to its funding. It should properly monitor the activities of political parties to avoid votes buying and other anti-democratic practices.