NIGERIAN ELECTORAL REFORM COMMITTEE COMPLETES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001315

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA
DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/09/2018
TAGS: PGOV KDEM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIAN ELECTORAL REFORM COMMITTEE COMPLETES
PUBLIC HEARINGS

REF: A. LAGOS 235

B. ABUJA 951

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter Pflaumer for reasons 1.4. (b
& d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: Nigeria's Electoral Reform Committee (ERC)
completed its public hearings on June 27, 2008. The ERC
visited 14 major cities in all six of Nigeria's geo-political
zones to receive recommendations from the general public,
governments, political parties, electoral commissions,
security agencies, civil society groups, women's groups, and
the media. Poloff and PolFSN attended hearings held in Kano
on June 20-21 and in Abuja on June 25. Four themes emerged
from the numerous recommendations: political party reform,
reforming the voting process, independence of the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC),and litigation of
contested elections and offenses. The hearings provided
Nigerians an opportunity to voice their concerns publicly,
but we noted that the concerns have not changed from those
frequently voiced prior to the 2007 elections. To date, very
little concrete action is evident, and there are serious
questions about how interested the GON is in meaningful
electoral reform. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) President Yar'Adua's Electoral Reform Committee
wrapped up its public hearing agenda with four days of
hearings in Abuja. The political party and civil society
presenters in Kano and Abuja appeared well-prepared to
deliver their recommendations. The hearings in Kano were
well attended, with up to one thousand people gathered, at
times making the meeting standing room only. Kano is known
to be the hub of politics in the North. Abuja, however, had
a smaller audience of approximately one hundred people,
including the presenters and journalists.

POLITICAL PARTY REFORM
--------------

3. (SBU) Although political parties and civil society groups
gave differing proposals, most deal with three
recommendations: (1) allow independent candidates, (2) limit
the number of political parties, and, conversely, (3) retain
an unlimited number of political parties. The Emir of Gumel,
the Jigawa State branch of the Democratic Peoples Party
(DPP),the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Jigawa Chapter, the
Joint National Association of Persons with disabilities, and
the Coalition of Women Groups in Nigeria all called for
independent, or non-party affiliated, candidates to be
allowed. The National Chapter of the NBA and the Abuja
branch of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) recommended
reducing the overall number of parties by requiring them to
win a minimum percentage of the vote in order to win seats.
On the other hand, the Kano State branch of the ANPP
supported the current system of not limiting the number of
parties (there are over 50). Likewise the National Chairman
of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA),Chief Victor

C. Umeh, expressed strong opposition to limiting political
parties, noting that the world's most successful democracies
put no limit on the number of parties.

THE VOTING PROCESS
--------------

4. (SBU) Recommendations regarding the voting process
centered on voter education, polling station security, and
ballots. As was the case in hearings further south (see Ref
A),northern organizations favored an "open ballot" system,
in which voters queue behind a poster of their preferred
candidate (the system used in the later-cancelled 1993
election, considered by most observers Nigeria's most honest)
to prevent manipulation. The Kano State branch of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urged the ERC to consider
electronic voting machines to reduce electoral fraud.
(COMMENT: INEC wasted much time prior to the 2007 elections
in attempts to obtain such machines. END COMMENT.) In
general, organizations agreed that polling stations require
improved staffing, security, and access for women and people
with disabilities.

INEC

ABUJA 00001315 002 OF 002


--------------

5. (SBU) There was widespread agreement that the so-called
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is not
independent since its members are chosen by the President,
who also controls its budget. The majority of organizations
proposed a review of INEC funding and recommended that INEC
members be selected by the legislature, and include
representatives from civil society groups and professional
associations, such as the Nigeria Labour Congress (similar to
proposals cited in Ref A).

LITIGATION
--------------

6. (SBU) Nigerians across the board voiced dissatisfaction
with the current process by which tribunals of judges review
contested elections, and the lack of prosecutions of
individuals for electoral offenses. (FYI: Despite electoral
observers' almost universal condemnation of the 2007
elections, no one has been prosecuted for election-related
rigging, and the members of INEC who were responsible remain
in office. END FYI.) Of particular note, the Jigawa State
INEC recommended that cases be heard within a limited time
frame and emphasized the importance of completing litigation
prior to officials assuming office. The NBA also called for
a shift of the burden of proof away from the complainant, and
called for the prosecution of electoral cases to be handled
by the Attorney General.

POLITICAL WILL REMAINS THE KEY
--------------

7. (C) COMMENT. The ERC hearings were the first public
glimpse at the Committee's activities. That said, it is not
clear how the public's input will affect the ERC's final
recommendations. That this stage in the process was only
completed at the end of June suggests that the ERC will not
meet its August deadline. (FYI: In a July 9 conversation
with Poloff, ERC Chair Justice Uwais said the Committee would
be asking for an extension of the deadline until December to
enable it to review the over 800 memoranda it has received.
END FYI.) In addition, we believe the ERC will be reluctant
to release its recommendations prior to a Supreme Court
decision on the challenge to last year's Presidential
election, lest its recommendations be used to bolster the
opposition's calls for it to be annulled.


8. (C) COMMENT CONTINUED. The hearings provided Nigerians an
opportunity to voice their concerns publicly and share their
recommendations; however, we note that none of the concerns
are new. NGOs and the international community expressed the
same misgivings in the months prior to the 2007 elections.
Despite the active participation of the public in the
hearings, which has at least given stakeholders a say, many
Nigerians remain skeptical that the ERC's deliberations will
lead to meaningful electoral reform unless they are taken
seriously and implemented. END COMMENT.
SANDERS