From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja

A Civil Society Organisation (CSO) under the auspices of African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), has warned against total election blackout in 2027, suggesting that something urgent must be done to address the abysmal 26 per cent turn of voters recorded in 2023 general elections.

An election expert and senior lecturer at the Nile University, Abuja, Dr. Iroro Izu, who spoke at an event organised by the Centre on Tuesday in Abuja, stressed that Nigeria must strive to join countries like Rwanda, Kenya, Gambia and Ghana with high voter turnout during elections.

The political scientist told participants at the one-day dialogue which brought together frontline CSOs and the media, that there have been steady decline in voter turnout during elections, arguing that the country has experienced more of voter burnout than turnout.

He said: “Voter burnout calculates the degree of discomfort, inconvenience, uncertainty and irresponsibility suffered by voters on election-day due to the unusually long-drawn hours the voters spend or wait to vote mainly because of delay in voting, inefficiency of election devices, incapability and corruptibility of election workers, rude activities of thugs, hooligans, touts, corrupt security operatives, colluding communities and logistical breakdown.

“Voter burnout deals with the harshness, callousness, rudeness and inhumanity of the voting ecology,” he said.
The election expert urged government to live up to the demands of governance in terms of bettering the living conditions or circumstances of the people.

“When governance fails it means that government has failed and when this trend becomes successive, making all previous governments to resemble one another in failure, the voters will develop this complex that their votes do not translate to anything that brings meaning to their everyday lives.

“Time spent at a polling center for balloting takes too long most times because of failed logistical issues borne out of the delay in the arrival of election materials, election workers, and the securitization of polls.

“Massive voter education and sensitisation should be carried out to orientate the voters on the importance of coming out to vote and that their votes will count.

“The number of polling units should be doubled to make voting centres more accessible to the voters, reducing the time per voter spent at the polling unit; and the centers should be designed to ensure inclusivity.

“Adopting a single-day for all elections will also reduce voter burnout because it will be a one-off thing. When the days of voting are too many, it makes the whole process cumbersome, tortuous and exasperating,” he said.

In his opening remarks, Executive Director of the Centre LSD, Monday Osasah, said the organisation recognises that at the heart of every democracy lies the fundamental right to vote—a right that defines citizens’ participation in shaping the society they desire.

According to him; “ultimate authority resides with the people, who delegate their power to elected representatives through the electoral process. The right to vote, or franchise, enables citizens to fulfill this vital role.”
He however lamented; “The history of elections in Nigeria, from the colonial period to the present reveals a troubling trend: citizens are often denied the effective exercise of their voting rights, and their votes frequently fail to influence the final electoral outcomes. In numerous cases, candidates have been declared winners without reflecting the true will of the electorate.The first election was held in Nigeria in 1923.

“We have seen from past electoral cycles in Nigeria and across many African countries, voter turnout remains alarmingly low. The data coming out from our study is telling.

“From the post-election analysis of Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, we identified critical issues such as: Weak voter education and poor communication from electoral bodies, lack of trust in the electoral process, challenges related to voter registration, PVC collection, and polling logistics, violence, insecurity, and disenfranchisement, gender disparities and underrepresentation of marginalized groups,” he enumerated.