FROM DIRECT CAPTURE TO MANDATE PROTECTION: EXPERIENCES FROM THE 2011 NIGERIAN ELECTIONS 1 2 Contents Chapter 1 ................................................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction: 2011 and the Protection of the People’s Mandate – the CDD Experience ............................ 7 Brief History of Nigeria’s Elections ..................................................................................................... 7 Elections and Mandate Protection in Nigeria ........................................................................................ 8 CDD, Elections Mandate Protection and Deepening Democracy .......................................................... 9 Outline of Chapters ............................................................................................................................ 10 References ......................................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2 ............................................................................................................................................... 11 An Assessment of the Legal Framework for the 2011 General Elections ................................................ 11 The 2007 General Elections and Aftermath ........................................................................................ 12 The Electoral Reform Committee and the Amendment of Electoral Laws in Nigeria .......................... 12 The Legal Framework for Managing Elections in Nigeria .................................................................. 18 Pre-Election Petitions and Electoral Offenses..................................................................................... 23 Election Petition Tribunals................................................................................................................. 24 Electoral Violence ............................................................................................................................. 26 Election Offences Tribunal ................................................................................................................ 27 Gender and the 2011 Elections ........................................................................................................... 28 Persons with Disability ...................................................................................................................... 28 Challenges to Law Making in Nigeria ................................................................................................ 28 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 29 References ......................................................................................................................................... 30 Chapter 3 ............................................................................................................................................... 32 Mandate Protection, Voter Registration and Campaigns ......................................................................... 32 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 32 Mandate Protection in Voter Registration and Mobilisation................................................................ 33 Voter Registration - The Change That We Saw .................................................................................. 34 Voter Mobilisation by Carrots and Sticks ........................................................................................... 36 Mandate Protection in Voter Mobilisation and Campaigns ................................................................. 37 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................ 38 3 Chapter 4 ........................................................................................................................................... 40 2011 General Elections: Field Notes on Mandate Protection in the South-South Nigeria .................... 40 CDD and Mandate Protection Training in the South-South zone ........................................................ 44 A-day Mandate Protection Training in Edo and Cross Rivers States .................................................. 44 Mandate Protection in the States: Field Notes .................................................................................... 45 Assessment of the Presidential Election ............................................................................................. 47 Concluding Remark ........................................................................................................................... 50 References ......................................................................................................................................... 51 Chapter 5 ........................................................................................................................................... 52 2011 General Elections: Field Notes on Mandate Protection in the South-West Zone, Nigeria ............ 52 The South-West’s Electoral Geography: Synopsis of Electoral Politics .............................................. 54 CDD and the Mandate Protection Training ........................................................................................ 56 One-Day Training on Voter Education and Mandate Protection in South-West Zone .......................... 57 One-Day Town Hall Meeting in the Six States of the South-West Zone ............................................. 57 Mandate Protection in the States: Field Notes .................................................................................... 58 An Assessment of the Voting Patterns in the region ........................................................................... 62 Concluding Remarks: Text on the Challenges .................................................................................... 67 Policy Recommendation: Towards 2015 ............................................................................................ 68 References ......................................................................................................................................... 68 Chapter 6 ............................................................................................................................................... 69 Field Notes from the Northwest Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria ................................................................ 69 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 69 The Northwest Zone: an Electoral Geography .................................................................................... 70 The Mandate Protection Project in the Northwest ............................................................................... 71 Reflections on Project Implementation in the Northwest .................................................................... 71 Highlight of Activities - Observations and Lessons Learnt ................................................................... 72 2011 Elections in the Northwest ........................................................................................................ 75 Conclusion: Towards Sustainable Democracy in Northwest Nigeria ................................................... 76 Electoral Geography of the Northeast ................................................................................................ 78 Boko Haram and 2011 Elections ........................................................................................................ 78 The 2007 Elections and Mandate Protection in Bauchi State .............................................................. 79 The 2011 CDD Mandate Protection Project in Bauchi State ............................................................... 80 4 The 2011 Elections in Bauchi State .................................................................................................... 80 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................... 81 Chapter 7 ............................................................................................................................................... 83 Field Notes from the North Central Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria ........................................................... 83 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 83 Political Peculiarities of North Central Zone ...................................................................................... 83 The 2011 General Elections in the North Central Zone....................................................................... 84 CDD Mandate Protection Projects in the North Central Zone ............................................................. 84 Participation in CDD Mandate Protection Project............................................................................... 86 2011 Elections and Lessons