Appraisal of the Electoral Act 2022: A Curse or Blessing to the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria

Abstract

It is trite law that the ultimate goal of a truly democratic nation is to conduct credible, free and fair elections. It is indeed one of the major challenges of the democratization process in a given nation. However, Nigeria is not known to have conducted elections devoid of rigging, vote buying, a re-run of elections, irregularities, malpractices, declaration of the election as inconclusive, etc. Thus, the issues bordering on reform of the electoral system, including the legal framework of the electoral process that will ensure substantial free and fair elections that meet the minimum standard of acceptable democratic elections, cannot but remain an essential goal of democracy in Nigeria. Under such circumstances, the Nigerian Government enacted Electoral Act 2022, introducing new changes such as using card readers and other technological devices, reducing campaign expenses by the political parties, a timeline for submitting lists of candidates, and criteria for substitution of candidates, amongst others. To this end, this paper, while adopting analytical research methodology, examines the Electoral Act 2022 and its innovations as a curse or blessing towards 2023 general elections in Nigeria. The paper revealed that the Act has regulated some unforeseen circumstances noticed in the previous elections, which necessitate post-election litigations across the country and suggests a way forward towards 2023 general election and beyond to meet the minimum standard of acceptable democratic elections.