BUILDING A CREDIBLE VOTER REGISTER: Balancing Rights, Identity, and National Security

The National Assembly Joint Committee on Electoral Matters is diligently working to deliver a new Electoral Act to the country before the 2027 general election. This task involves collaborating with technical committees, development partners, and other key stakeholders.

A key part of the amendment process is balancing the sovereign rights of Nigerian citizens, as the only authority on their governance, with preventing foreigners and ineligible registrants from accessing polling stations. This balance is essential considering the history of our elections and the importance of the voter register within the hierarchy of the electoral process.

It is well known that the voter register and its compilation have been contentious issues. Political parties, aspirants, candidates, groups, organisations, and stakeholders often mount pressure during voter registration. Some seek to control the vote bank and give their ethnic or religious group an advantage during elections. Others attempt to increase the numerical strength of their Registration Areas (wards), Local Governments, States, or geopolitical zones.

The most dangerous and troubling attempts aim to corrupt the process through multiple and duplicate registrations. Some register underage individuals who are not legally eligible to register as voters. Additionally, some foreign nationals register and try to influence Nigerian elections. Some foreign nationals pose as Nigerians and use voter cards as identification to carry out transactions in banks and other financial institutions. These activities significantly challenge the credibility of the voter register.

How can the credibility of the voter register be enhanced without disenfranchising Nigerian citizens or restricting their ability to register as voters? Can the quality and reliability of the voter register be improved through amendments to the Electoral Act? What documents are necessary for registration, or what should the electoral management body require before someone can be registered as a voter? Where should we strike a balance between our citizenship and proof of citizenship in voter registration?

Voter registration is governed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, and the Regulations and Guidelines issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission under the powers conferred by the Constitution.

 Two fundamental provisions of the Constitution regulate and guide voter registration. The first is section 77(2) of the Constitution. It states that ‘every citizen of Nigeria, who has attained the age of eighteen years, residing in Nigeria at the time of the registration of voters for purposes of election to a legislative house, shall be entitled to be registered as a voter for that election.’ This means that to be registered as a voter, you must be a citizen of Nigeria. It also means that you must have reached the age of 18. Additionally, you must be a resident of Nigeria at the time and during the periods designated for voters’ registration.

The second provision is section 78. It states that ‘the registration of voters and the conduct of elections shall be subject to the direction and supervision of the Independent National Electoral Commission.’

 Section 25 of the Constitution specifies those who are citizens of Nigeria by birth. These include everyone born in Nigeria before independence, whose parent or grandparent belongs or belonged to an indigenous community; everyone born in Nigeria after independence, whose parent or grandparent is a Nigerian citizen; and everyone born outside Nigeria, whose parent is a Nigerian citizen.

Some people acquire Nigerian citizenship by registration. This includes any woman who is, or has been, married to a Nigerian citizen, or any person of full age and capacity born outside Nigeria, of whom one or more grandparents are Nigerian citizens. Section 27 provides for citizenship by naturalisation, while section 28 addresses dual citizenship.

Under its powers under the Constitution, the National Assembly enacted the Electoral Act to establish procedures and processes for implementing constitutional provisions. Section 9 of the Act states that the Commission shall compile, maintain, and continually update a National Register of Voters, which shall include the names of all persons entitled to vote in any Federal, State, Local Government, or Federal Capital Territory Area Council elections; and, with disability status disaggregated by type of disability.

On the other hand, section 10(2) of the Act states that ‘each applicant for registration under the continuous registration system shall appear in person at the registration venue with any of the following documents: birth certificate, national passport, identity card, driver's licence, or any other document that will prove the applicant's identity, age, and nationality.

I surmise that the National Assembly can amend the Electoral Act and add additional documents to prove the identity, age and nationality of a person who applies to register as a voter. They can add a National Identity Card or a National Identity Number, a Nigerian birth Certificate and any other means of identification. 

However, they cannot remove the provision that gives the Independent National Electoral Commission the right and the discretion to demand any other document to prove the identity, age and nationality of anyone who applies to register as a voter. An applicant may produce a certificate issued by the hospital. The applicant may have a Local Government Birth Registration Certificate. The applicant may possess any other document acceptable to the Commission. This is because section 78 of the Constitution gives the Commission the exclusive right on issues relating to the registration of voters. Therefore, the Electoral Act or any amendment to the Electoral Act cannot restrict the Commission from determining who should be registered. 

As highlighted by Hon. Justice Tobi in AG Lagos State v. AG Federation & ors (2003) LPELR-620(SC), ‘The Constitution is the measure by which the constitutionality or otherwise of a statute is assessed. If a statute conflicts with any provision of the Constitution, that provision of the statute becomes null and void. This aligns with the language of Section 1(3) of the Constitution. Before a court can declare an entire statute inconsistent with the Constitution and therefore null, it must thoroughly examine the entire content of the statute. This is essential because a court lacks the jurisdiction to declare a whole statute null if some provisions are consistent with the Constitution. In this regard, I assert that even if only one section of a statute aligns with the Constitution, the court cannot deem the entire statute unconstitutional. Generally, the court’s duty is to scrutinise the provisions of the Act carefully, discarding irrelevant parts and arriving at a fair decision based on the Act’s provisions. In this process, the court must carefully analyse the language or wording of the Act in light of constitutional provisions.’

It is more prudent to allow the electoral management body to create policies and programmes that prevent double and multiple registrants from accessing the registration portal. Let security agencies pursue the parents of underage registrants. Let the Immigration Department monitor our borders and deny non-Nigerians the chance to sneak in and register as voters. Let the political elite abide by the rules and stop exploiting the opacity of the voter register as an alternative vote bank. The overriding consideration in voter registration is to make it easy for Nigerian citizens to register as voters and prevent ineligible registrants from accessing the registration centres.