Just in… Osun: Jonathan Calls for New Rules to Curb ‘Unwholesome’ Political Conduct During Elections

…Former President urges National Peace Committee to convene stakeholders’ summit, warns that governors and powerful political actors ‘descending’ on off-cycle election states could turn polls into battles for political survival

By Jeremy Fregene
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has called for new national standards to regulate the conduct of political leaders during off-cycle elections, warning that the growing practice of serving governors and other powerful political actors converging on election states with large entourages and heavy security details could threaten Nigeria’s democratic stability.

Jonathan, in a statement on the recent Osun State governorship election on Tuesday, said the development witnessed around the Osun, Ekiti and Ondo elections was unusual and should not be allowed to become the norm in a democratic society.

While commending the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties and, particularly, the people of Osun State for the peaceful conduct of the election, the former President said the conduct of political actors before and during off-cycle polls had become a matter of national concern.

He said the increasing presence of serving governors, senior political office holders, party leaders and influential government functionaries, often accompanied by large numbers of aides and security personnel from outside the state where an election is taking place, could create an atmosphere of apprehension, intimidation and undue pressure.

“The growing practice whereby serving governors, senior political office holders, party leaders and other influential government functionaries, accompanied by large numbers of aides and heavy security details from outside a state, converge on states where elections are being conducted raises an issue that demands national attention,” Jonathan said.

According to him, political parties have every right to campaign, mobilise supporters, and deploy legitimate party structures, but there should be limits to political mobilisation when it involves an overwhelming presence of serving public officials and powerful political actors on election day.

Jonathan recalled that similar situations occurred during the 2013 Anambra and 2014 Ekiti governorship elections when he was President.

He said that after being briefed about the mobilisation of senior political leaders to the states, he directed party leaders and senior government officials to leave the affected states immediately.

The former President warned that allowing the current trend to become entrenched could trigger a dangerous cycle in which rival political parties and governors would continually attempt to match one another’s political influence, government machinery, and mobilisation capacity during elections.

“If the current trend becomes established, what happens when governors from opposing political parties begin to descend on every state holding a competitive election?” he asked.

“What happens when each party seeks to match political power with political power, governmental influence with governmental influence, and mobilisation with counter-mobilisation?”

Jonathan said such a scenario would deepen political tensions and could gradually transform elections from peaceful contests for the people’s mandate into “battles for political survival.”

He therefore urged political leaders and stakeholders to view the issue beyond partisan considerations arising from the Osun election, describing it instead as a national question requiring urgent attention.

The former President also reminded former and serving public officials that their actions carry great responsibility because of the power and influence attached to public office.

He called on the National Peace Committee to convene an urgent stakeholders’ engagement to examine emerging practices around elections and develop mutually accepted standards for political conduct.

Jonathan proposed that the engagement should involve the leadership of registered political parties, INEC, relevant security agencies, the National Assembly, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, civil society organisations and the media.

He said the National Peace Committee was particularly suited to lead the initiative because of the confidence and moral authority it had built over the years in bringing political leaders together during periods of national tension.

According to him, an early national conversation would help establish appropriate boundaries and expectations for political conduct before practices considered unusual today become accepted as normal in future elections.

Jonathan stressed that Nigeria’s democracy can only be strengthened when political competition was conducted within clearly understood boundaries and when victory was not perceived as something that must be secured “at all costs.”