February 23, (THEWILL) — After an intense and robust public debate over the need for transparency and integrity of election results during the process of amendment of the Electoral Act by the National Assembly, attention has shifted to the incremental development of low voter turnout during elections. The recently concluded Council polls in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, and two by-elections each in Kano and Rivers State have brought this undemocratic conduct to the front burner.
No less a government official than the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, made the point during the FCT poll held on Saturday, February 21, 2025. While monitoring the exercise, Wike expressed disappointment at the turnout of voters, describing it as “sad,” even as he likened the development to what happens during off-cycle elections. But as observed by the outgoing President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, Most Rev. Lucius Ugorji, at the opening ceremony of the ongoing 3-day 2026 First Plenary Meeting at the Catholic Secretariat in Abuja, voter turnout at elections has progressively declined from 69 percent in 2003 to 23 percent in 2023.
“This decline says a lot about citizens’ trust in the electoral process and calls into question the legitimacy of elected officials in a democratic dispensation with a mandate of ever-decreasing minority.” We cannot agree less with Most Rev. Ugorji.
With less than a year to the 2027 general election, many political parties are in disarray. In fact, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, stated recently that, going by the internal crisis within many parties, only four out of 20 are ready for the upcoming polls. The 16 others are battling with a candidate and a leadership crisis.
Yet political parties are made up of members drawn from across professions, occupations, and artisanal workers. If the parties are in disarray, how are they going to fulfil their mandate of mobilising and enlightening their members and ultimately the citizenry towards performing their most vital civic duties, which is the election of their representatives?
Without the participation of the people in elections, representative democracy as we practice in Nigeria will be a mockery and an invitation to tyranny. The process of getting into office in a democracy is as important as the running of the government. Wholesome participation by the people in regular elections is the first step towards inclusion in governance.
We urge the relevant stakeholders, particularly the political parties, to put their houses in order and give the people a sense of direction and order. Democracy dies without the free and fair participation of the people.
