Former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Attahiru Jega, said on Wednesday that the political class in the country was exploring legal loopholes that failed to provide for sanctions against those who engage in premature campaigns ahead of the 2027 general elections, thereby heating the polity.

In his paper titled “Towards Addressing the Challenges of Premature Election Campaigns in Nigeria”, at a round table organised by INEC, Prof Jega said premature campaigns were an aberration in democratic elections.

Prof Jega said that any form of premature campaigning violates this provision, undermining INEC’s authority and the rule of law and eroding the integrity of any election.

He said that the provisions of the nation’s laws made it clear that jumping the gun campaign processes is prohibited, thereby placing the onus of regulating (and sanctioning?) campaigns on INEC.

Jega said that any form of premature campaigning violates the provisions of the Electoral Act, undermining INEC’s authority and the rule of law, adding that the consequences of such actions are enormous.

These, he said, include broadly undermining democratic institutions, encouraging lawlessness among political actors, and granting unfair political advantage to parties and candidates who are reckless and brazen in disrespecting the law.

He said further that “candidates or parties who begin campaigning early often gain more visibility and influence than other candidates, thereby creating an uneven playing field; reducing political competition, and ultimately escalating campaign spending.

“Similarly, premature campaigns shift focus from governance to politics, especially when incumbents engage in early campaigning, and divert attention to politicking rather than fulfilling their mandates to the electorate.

“Indeed, in the Nigerian context, premature campaigns quite often heat up the polity, increase political rivalry, as well as engender hate speech and ethno-religious polarization. This often triggers violence, especially in politically volatile areas, deters peaceful political participation, and weakens the enforcement mechanism to punish the offenders.

“There are so many ways politicians exploit legal loopholes to engage in premature campaigns, such as consultative meetings, project commissioning, ceremonial events, and distribution of so-called palliatives.

“These acts ultimately make laws ineffective; they encourage a culture of impunity, particularly for the ruling parties at all levels of governance in the federation. Similarly, premature campaigns always erode the integrity of elections by creating perceptions of abuse of power, and complicity or duplicity of the EMB.

“To protect the integrity of the electoral process, and to nurture and enhance perception of impartiality and neutrality of the EMBS, many electoral jurisdictions not only clearly define premature campaigns in the electoral legal framework, and provide sanctions for them, they also strive to strictly penalize the crass manifestations of them, with penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment.

“Examples of countries where noteworthy efforts are made are: Australia, Mexico, the Philippines, and, to some extent, India. Few, if any, African countries pay adequate attention to, especially in effectively sanctioning premature campaigns. Any wonder then why there is general, global questioning of the integrity of our electoral processes, relative to others?

“It can be said that, in the Nigerian case, much needs to be desired, both in terms of explicitly defining premature elections in the legal framework, providing for stiff sanctions for them, and in strictly imposing the sanctions.

Nigeria can benefit from how election campaigns are regulated and sanctioned in other countries, and draw appropriate lessons for improving our own situation. The lessons drawn from these countries may be noteworthy.

He said, “For elections to be meaningful, ‘democratic’ and beneficial to the citizens, they should have integrity: i.e., be rule-based, transparent, ‘free and fair’, and have a level-playing field for all participating political parties and candidates. Similarly, their preparation and conduct must be seen to be professional, efficient, non-partisan, and impartial.

“Campaigns are very important aspects of elections. Indeed, election campaigns play a significant role in deepening democracy.

“Through these, parties and candidates advertise themselves and their ideas and positions to the electorate so that they can be chosen and elected from an array of competing parties and candidates. But like all aspects of elections, campaigns are also essentially rule-based; their period and duration are defined by either the provisions of the constitution and/or Acts of the legislature, and regulated by Election Management Bodies (EMBs).

“Thus, in virtually all electoral jurisdictions, the period for commencement and end of campaigns is specified. Sanctions are often provided for violations. The application of the sanctions, however, differs from one electoral jurisdiction to another.

“In general, the more carefully and unambiguously defined and strictly applied the sanctions are, the greater the deterrence against violations by parties and candidates. Conversely, the more vaguely defined, if at all, and poorly sanctioned, the more likely the violations by political parties and candidates. Hence, effective sanctioning is essentially the panacea for addressing the challenges of all election campaigns, especially premature campaigns”.

The former INEC boss said further that “premature election campaigns are undesirable aberrations in democratic elections, posing serious challenges to the integrity of elections. If not appropriately checked, they pose one of the most serious threats to elections and undermine the integrity of the entire electoral process.

“Premature election campaigns are basically campaigns done outside the legally defined period. They create an uneven playing field; disrespect and violate the law; they confer unfair advantages to parties/candidates who jumped the gun; they breed/entrench a culture of lawlessness and impunity; they create political tensions; and they may even generate tensions and conflicts and undermine law and order.

“To protect the integrity of the electoral process, most electoral systems require campaigns to be conducted according to the rules and regulations provided in the electoral legal framework; with due respect to the calendar of the elections; respecting the right and freedom of other parties to organize and campaign and reach out to the voters; respecting the election managers and not interfering with the performance of their duties; and using the official complaint process and the legal system for appeals.

He said that although the Nigerian electoral legal framework contains some provisions regulating election campaigns, as it provides for period of commencement and end of campaigns, regrettably, premature campaigning has remained inadequately regulated and has become increasingly widespread characterized mainly by the display of posters featuring politicians, across political parties, but especially of incumbents, at both federal and state levels, literally ‘jumping the gun’, some two years before the official election/campaign period.

Jega said that currently in Nigeria, the prevalence of premature campaigns raises serious challenges to the preparations and conduct of the 2027 elections, and therefore needs to be sanitized urgently, as it is being done quite brazenly, especially by incumbent elected officials at all levels and tiers of government.

Prof Jega said all election campaign offences, especially premature campaign offences, should be carefully defined, stiff penalties specified, and strictly applied where applicable, while candidates and their parties, especially incumbent office holders and their political parties, should be vicariously held responsible and penalized for premature campaigns for them by third parties.

He also said that the anti-graft bodies, EFCC and ICPC, should pay special attention to Third-party campaigners and thoroughly interrogate their sources of funding, saying.

“In determining whether candidates’ and parties’ expenditures fall within approved limits, the estimated/determined expenditure by a third-party campaigner for the candidate/party should be taken into consideration”.

He also challenged the nation’s electoral management bodies (INEC and SIECs) to work closely and collaboratively to ensure appropriate imposition of sanctions and penalties where appropriate.

He said further, “The recommendation for the establishment of the Elections Offences Commission and Tribunal has become even more urgently important for consideration, and should be addressed in the next/current round of electoral reforms before the 2027 elections”. (The Nation)