Nigeria: Legislation and the electoral process

Elections have meaning for most people only in a democratic context because they lead to the choice of decision-makers by the majority of citizens. Elections and democracy are therefore inextricably linked. Three major challenges face the future of elections and democracy in Nigeria as we move towards the 2007 elections. The first challenge is that of the will and capacity of the National Assembly and INEC to keep to a road map that will lead us to free and fair elections in 2007. The second is the ambition of President Olusegun Obasanjo to change the Constitution to have a Third Term in office against the wishes of a majority of Nigerians. And the third is ensuring that the next elections are not as massively rigged as the previous ones were.