The Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, has urged the National Assembly to throw out the bill seeking to criminalize voter apathy in Nigeria.
Naija News reported that the House of Representatives on Thursday passed for second reading the bill to mandate compulsory voting during elections.
According to the bill sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, citizens who refuse to vote during elections should be jailed for six months.
In a statement released on Friday, Yiaga’s Itodo stressed that voting is a right, not a duty to be criminalised.
Yiaga, while acknowledging the intention of the bill to address voter apathy, noted that abstaining from voting is internationally recognized rights of citizens.
“The said bill is conceived as a legislative intervention to address the abysmally low voter turnout. While the rationale for the bill is plausible because it aims to address one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria’s electoral system, the strong-arm approach adopted by the bill is draconian and it constitutes a gross violation of constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights. Indeed, the right to abstain from voting is itself a legitimate form of political expression protected under domestic and international human rights law,” it read.
Yiaga’s Executive Director emphasized that democracy thrives on freedom, including the choice to participate or abstain from voting.
He stated that the bill failed to address factors that cause voter apathy in the country, such as distrust, electoral fraud and bad governance.
“Democracy thrives on freedom, which includes the choice to participate or abstain from voting. Compulsory voting undermines this democratic freedom and the punitive sanctions for not voting erode the foundational principles of voluntary democratic engagement. The bill, in its entirety, fails to address the drivers of voter apathy such as distrust in the electoral process, election manipulation and poor governance.
“Rather than compel voting, the National Assembly should prioritise electoral reforms that rebuild public trust, improve election integrity, and remove structural and systemic barriers to participation. These include reforms that guarantee mandatory electronic transmission of results, review the mode of appointments into INEC, early voting, diaspora voting and improved transparency in the management of elections,” it stated.
Yiaga maintained that voter apathy cannot be addressed by imposing punishment but by addressing distrust, electoral fraud and manipulation.
“Yiaga Africa believes voter apathy isn’t addressed with imposing punishment for not voting. It can be addressed through trust, electoral justice, and accountability. We therefore urge the National Assembly to reject the proposal and channel its legislative efforts towards passing electoral amendments that expand access to voting, guarantee electoral transparency, and protect the political rights of all Nigerians,” it added.