And Four Other Things...
No INEC
Something always baffles me about the American elections. Every state conducts the presidential election by itself. There is no national electoral body like our own INEC. In fact, it was more or less the broadcast media that announced the results, not any Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
Something always baffles me about the American elections. Every state conducts the presidential election by itself. There is no national electoral body like our own INEC. In fact, it was more or less the broadcast media that announced the results, not any Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC).
Early Voting
At least, we have something in common with the Americans. It is called “early voting”. This was to increase turn-out, as some voters find queuing on election day too tedious and unattractive. Well, the good news is that we also do “early voting” in Nigeria. The bad news, however, is that it is not open to everybody. It is usually a few party thugs who gather in hotel rooms or government offices to thumbprint thousands of ballots, which would then be smuggled into the ballot boxes on election day.
At least, we have something in common with the Americans. It is called “early voting”. This was to increase turn-out, as some voters find queuing on election day too tedious and unattractive. Well, the good news is that we also do “early voting” in Nigeria. The bad news, however, is that it is not open to everybody. It is usually a few party thugs who gather in hotel rooms or government offices to thumbprint thousands of ballots, which would then be smuggled into the ballot boxes on election day.
Campaign Unlimited
We have a law banning candidates from campaigning 48 hours to an election. Not only are you banned from mounting the soapbox, you cannot even advertise in newspapers or on radio/TV. In America, and other advanced countries, you can campaign for as long as you want. You can even campaign after the election! That’s your headache. We carried over many restrictive laws from the military. We have never bothered to question them. Can we relax the rules a bit, please, especially the one on advertising?
We have a law banning candidates from campaigning 48 hours to an election. Not only are you banned from mounting the soapbox, you cannot even advertise in newspapers or on radio/TV. In America, and other advanced countries, you can campaign for as long as you want. You can even campaign after the election! That’s your headache. We carried over many restrictive laws from the military. We have never bothered to question them. Can we relax the rules a bit, please, especially the one on advertising?
Electoral Votes
What is “electoral college”? That is the indirect way the American president is elected. Every state is allocated electoral college votes roughly based on its population. So if a candidate wins in a state, he theoretically gets all the electoral votes. The candidate with most electoral votes is declared winner. He need not win the popular votes, like George W. Bush in 2000. If we were to employ this system in Nigeria, Lagos and Kano would have most electoral votes of 24 each, while Bayelsa and Nasarawa will have the lowest of five each. How did I know? Our House of Representatives is composed on the basis of population per state…
What is “electoral college”? That is the indirect way the American president is elected. Every state is allocated electoral college votes roughly based on its population. So if a candidate wins in a state, he theoretically gets all the electoral votes. The candidate with most electoral votes is declared winner. He need not win the popular votes, like George W. Bush in 2000. If we were to employ this system in Nigeria, Lagos and Kano would have most electoral votes of 24 each, while Bayelsa and Nasarawa will have the lowest of five each. How did I know? Our House of Representatives is composed on the basis of population per state…
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