NASS’ Compulsory Voting Bill Wobbles

• Speaker, Colleagues Should Know That Compulsory Voting Is Constitutionally Invalid-Falana
• Agbakoba: Voters’ Apathy Stems From Exclusion, Unfulfilled Promises, Not Lack Of Civic Responsibility

The plans by the National Assembly to make voting compulsory in Nigeria appear to be wobbling on both feet if the opposition to the bill is anything to go by.

Trouble started when the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and Labour Party lawmaker Daniel Asama Ago, sought to amend the Electoral Act to make voting mandatory for all Nigerians of voting age in national and state elections. It proposes a six-month jail term or a fine of ₦100,000 for eligible citizens who fail to vote.

During the plenary, Ago, who represents Bassa/Jos North, contended that the bill aims to curb voter apathy and reduce vote-buying.

Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu supported the bill, citing Australia as a model where compulsory voting has reportedly enhanced civic responsibility.

However, prominent lawyers in the country like Femi Falana and Olisa Agbakoba, both Senior Advocate of Nigeria, have poured cold water on the bill declaring it “unconstitutional” and “impractical” under the current legal framework.

Falana, in a statement issued on Monday titled ‘Compulsory Voting is Not Enough’, faulted the legislative move on constitutional grounds.

He said the bill is inconsistent with several provisions of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantee citizens’ rights to privacy, freedom of thought, and freedom of conscience.

“The Speaker of the House of Representatives probably wants Nigeria to join Egypt—the only African country out of 23 globally with provisions for compulsory voting.

“The said constitutional provisions protect the fundamental rights of the Nigerian people to privacy, freedom of thought and conscience, as well as the freedom to register and vote in national and state elections conducted in Nigeria.

“However, it is doubtful whether the Speaker and his colleagues have paid sufficient attention to the relevant provisions of the Constitution. Otherwise, they would have realised that compulsory voting is constitutionally invalid in every material particular on the ground that it is inconsistent with Sections 37, 38, 77(2), 135(5) and 178(5) of the Constitution,” he stated.

 He argued that the legal foundation for mandatory voting is shaky since Chapter II of the constitution outlines the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, which remain non-justiciable.

“Compulsory voting cannot be legalised in vacuo. Apart from the possibility that it may be declared illegal under the current political dispensation, it is practically impossible to prosecute millions of Nigerians who may decide to boycott national and local elections that have been reduced to the periodic renewal of misgovernance, corruption, and abuse of power by pampered members of the political class,” Falana warned.

He further invoked Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act, which guarantees citizens the right to participate in government.

“Citizens can be justifiably compelled to vote only if the socio-economic rights set out in Chapter II are made justiciable,” Falana added.

Citing several precedents, Falana stressed that compulsory voting violates both legal and moral boundaries. “The National Assembly is advised to review the controversial bill without any further delay,” he stated.

The SAN also criticised the lack of constitutional backing for electronic election devices such as BVAS and IReV, despite their role in improving electoral credibility. “The Supreme Court has ruled that the use of these devices is not yet recognised under the Electoral Act or the Constitution,” he stated.

According to Falana, the legislative focus should shift toward amending the Electoral Act to formally integrate technological innovations like BVAS and to adopt key recommendations from the Uwais Electoral Reform Panel.

These include unbundling INEC, introducing proportional representation, concluding election petitions before the swearing-in of winners, and establishing an electoral offences commission.

He stated that unless Chapter II of the Constitution—containing the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy—is made justiciable, enforcing compulsory voting would remain a legal contradiction.

“Having regard to the state of the law, compulsory voting cannot be legalised in vacuo,” the lawyer declared.

Similarly, Agbakoba condemned the National Assembly for putting the cart before the horse for attempting to enforce compulsory voting, arguing that it fails to address the root causes of voter apathy in the country.

“Look at the ridiculous one in the National Assembly about voting being compulsory. If that bill were to pass, I would say, ‘Agbakoba, we will not obey it.’ I’ll plead conscientious objection. I’d rather go to prison for six months than to obey it,” he said while speaking on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today programme.

He questioned the rationale behind the bill, stating, “Why would the National Assembly want to impose compulsory voting? Why don’t they reverse the question and say, Why are Nigerians not interested? What is the apathy about?”

Agbakoba maintained that voter disengagement stems from years of exclusion and unfulfilled political promises, not a lack of civic responsibility.

“The apathy is that they don’t get anything. If I know that I’m going to get something—there’s an aspiration, there’s an interest—you will find people coming out to vote. But then people see the same old trick. You come, you take my vote, you disappear till the next four years. There’ll be apathy,” he said.

According to the senior lawyer, exclusion is at the heart of Nigeria’s democratic failure.

“Right now, we have a big problem with having a system that excludes. I think you will find the biggest problem we have in Nigeria is around exclusion. That, I think, is the biggest problem—around exclusion. People are not taking part in the process,” he noted.