Abstract:

Among the many expectations from every electoral bill, electoral security can be said to be of paramount importance. Any electoral bill that cannot guarantee electoral security is nothing but a futile legislative exercise, for it is the presence and feeling of electoral security that midwifes free and fair elections which is the hallmark democratic sustainability. Discourse on electoral security has serious implications on the survival of democracies as this helps to guarantee the stability of the political system which in turn create an enabling environment for the a stable economy. In the wake of the repeated refusal of the president to sign the electoral bill into law, this paper examined the challenges to electoral security, bearing in mind the stability of the polity during and after the general elections. The paper employed an exploratory research design and adopted qualitative method of data collection and analysis. Findings from our discourse which is based on the Political Economy Approach, revealed that, the electoral bill did not add anything new concerning electoral security; and that the major bone of contention between the members of the National Assembly and the Executives over the electoral bill is the section that re-ordered the sequence of the elections placing the election of the president last. Also, the establishment of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) as the main framework for managing electoral security made the ICCES a consultative platform instead of having a strong legal backing that should be enshrined in the electoral act. The paper recommends amongst others that, for the placement of national interest before personal interest, eschewing political affiliation when considering matters like electoral bill that is expected to enhance electoral security, increases cooperation between the legislative and executive arm, thereby leading to stable polity.

Keywords: