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Legal and law concept statue of Lady Justice on blurred backgroundSince the September 21 governorship election in Edo state, political discourse in Nigeria has centred on electoral integrity and accountability; how electoral contests should be conducted to reflect the very will of the people and enhance Nigeria’s democratic experience.
Addressing the media last week, Amadi, asked among other things: “How should the courts now respond to alleged absurdities and abnormalities by INEC? We are seeing a lot of loss of confidence in the electoral system, we are seeing also that INEC is getting worse, almost more criminal in their undertakings, how should the courts now respond?”
It is given this troubling context that Amadi’s assertion that “the reason why politicians are now more heroic in manipulating the electoral system is that there’s no deterrence for electoral offences and manipulation. If courts nullified elections where politicians spent billions to rig, they would be less inclined to bribe INEC or police for electoral results, knowing those results could ultimately be cancelled,” is not just insightful but fundamental to the resurgence of democratic values.
This is how civic trust can begin to be restored among the electorate, who often feel that their votes are meaningless in the face of overwhelming political juggernauts, who treat elections as mere formalities rather than genuine expressions of democratic will.
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