Officially, campaigns for the presidential election of February 2023 started on Wednesday, September 28, 2022. Unlike previous campaigns which lasted 90 days, the current exercise will last for 150 days or about five months. Analysts predict that it is going to be hot. This is partly because rather than the two-horse race which we were used to since the advent of this republic, at least three political parties are seriously in contention for the coveted presidential trophy this time. They are the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP). These parties will most likely throw in everything they have to woo voters during this campaign period.
Hence, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was proactive in rolling out the dos and don’ts of the political campaigns. According to INEC, political messages, campaigns or slogans must not be tainted with hate speech or abusive language capable of injuring religious, ethnic, tribal or sectional feelings. They must be devoid of insinuations or innuendoes likely to provoke a violent reaction. Physical attacks on supporters of one party by another or destruction of campaign materials are also prohibited.
INEC’s campaign guidelines are derived from the Electoral Act 2022. Section 92(3) of the Act further stipulates that places designated for religious worship, police stations and public offices shall not be used for political campaigns or rallies or to promote, propagate or attack political parties, candidates or their programmes and ideologies.
With regard to the reported cases of some state governments denying opposition parties the use of public facilities for campaigns, INEC warned that such an action was illegal and would attract sanctions. Section 95(2) of the Electoral Act further warns that state apparatus, including the media, shall not be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election.
It is incumbent on political parties and their candidates to observe these guidelines. Though the parties had set out a similar code of conduct to guide their activities and pledged to fully observe them, they have to renew their commitment to observe them this period. The guidelines include provisions that prohibit political parties or candidates from obstructing or interfering with a meeting, rally, march, or any campaign activity of another party; using state vehicles or other public resources for campaigns or any other party business.
Political parties are also enjoined to instruct their members and supporters to carry no arms or any object that can cause injury to a political rally or any other political function. They are to prevail on their candidates and supporters not to prevent the posting of posters or distribution of leaflets, hand bills and other publicity materials in public places by other political parties. Destroying posters or other campaign materials of other parties is also prohibited. Party supporters are not to shout their party slogan or wear their identifying colours to the rallies or other public gatherings of other political parties. The media as the watchdog of the society should be abreast of what is expected of them. They should remain professional and should not engage in acts capable of derailing our electoral process. The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) should ensure that the broadcast media gives equal opportunities to political parties.
The candidates have a role to play too. For them, issue-based campaigns are imperative. They must carry out their campaigns with decorum and decency and act within the ambit of the law. Any breach of this code of conduct must be visited with adequate sanctions. As the parties and their candidates crisscross the country, they should bear in mind the campaign fund limit as contained in Section 88 of the Electoral Act 2022. For instance, no individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N50 million. Besides, the maximum election expenses a candidate can incur at a presidential election is N5 billion. There are penalties for any breach of this finance campaign provisions.
For those planning to recruit and arm thugs, Section 92(5) of the Electoral Act forbids that. It says “a political party, aspirant or candidate of a political party shall not retain, organise, train or equip any person or group of persons for the purpose of enabling them to be employed for the use or display of physical force or coercion in promoting any political objective or interests, or in such manner as to arouse reasonable apprehension that they are organised, trained or equipped for that purpose.” Should any such thing occur, security agencies, including the police and the Civil Defence Corps, are empowered to deal with it. They are also expected to provide adequate security during rallies and throughout the political campaign period.
Essentially, the ball is now in the court of INEC and political parties to make this election a memorable one for Nigeria. As the umpire, INEC should not just issue guidelines and relax. It should have the courage to enforce such guidelines. In the recent past, the umpire had turned a blind eye to dirty campaigns by different political parties. This should not be so again. It should monitor the rallies and campaigns and ensure that it’s violence-free and also sanction any breach of the code of conduct for the campaigns.