Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has frowned at the proposed bill to make voting compulsory in Nigeria, declaring it unconstitutional and impractical under the current legal framework.
DAILY POST reports that the bill, co-sponsored by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and Labour Party lawmaker Daniel Asama Ago, sought to amend the Electoral Act to make voting mandatory for all Nigerians of voting age in national and state elections.
The bill also proposed a six-month jail term or a fine of N100,000 for eligible citizens who fail to vote. At a plenary on Thursday, Ago, representing Bassa/Jos North, maintained that the bill aims to curb voter apathy and reduce vote-buying.
In the same vein, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu supported the bill, citing Australia as a model where compulsory voting has reportedly enhanced civic responsibility.
In a statement titled ‘Compulsory Voting is Not Enough’, on Monday, Falana, blasted the legislative move on constitutional grounds.
According to him, the bill is inconsistent with several provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantee citizens’ rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and freedom of conscience.
“The Speaker of the House of Representatives probably wants Nigeria to join Egypt—the only African country out of 23 globally with provisions for compulsory voting.
“The said constitutional provisions protect the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people to privacy, freedom of thought and conscience, as well as the freedom to register and vote in national and state elections conducted in Nigeria.
“However, it is doubtful whether the Speaker and his colleagues have paid sufficient attention to the relevant provisions of the Constitution. Otherwise, they would have realised that the compulsory voting is constitutionally invalid in every material particular on the ground that it is inconsistent with Sections 37, 38, 77(2), 135(5) and 178(5) of the Constitution,”;; Falana stated.
The senior lawyer further argued that the legal foundation for mandatory voting is shaky since Chapter II of the constitution outlines the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which remain non-justiciable.
“Compulsory voting cannot be legalised in vacuo. Apart from the possibility that it may be declared illegal under the current political dispensation, it is practically impossible to prosecute millions of Nigerians who may decide to boycott national and local elections that have been reduced to the periodic renewal of misgovernance, corruption, and abuse of power by pampered members of the political class.
“Since Section 14(2) of the Constitution provides for popular participation in the democratic process, compulsory voting may only be justified if Chapter II thereof is made justiciable,”;; he said.
Falana slammed Nigerian courts for dismissing the enforceability of Chapter II without considering Section 224 of the Constitution, which mandates political parties to align their programmes and policies with the principles in that chapter.
