Atiku Demands Sweeping Electoral Reforms to Restore Voter Confidence

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for comprehensive electoral and judicial reforms, warning that Nigeria’s democracy risks losing public confidence if urgent steps are not taken.

In a statement released on his verified X handle, Atiku commended Nigerians for their enthusiasm in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration exercise but stressed that credible reforms are needed to strengthen electoral integrity and judicial independence.

He lamented that voter turnout during the 2023 elections had fallen to the lowest level since 1999, with only 26.72 per cent of registered voters casting ballots.

“Something needs to be done to check this slide if citizens are to continue to have an appetite for the democratic process,” he said.

Quoting human rights lawyer Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Atiku warned that “judges, once constrained arbiters of electoral disputes, have become increasingly unconstrained in determining who holds power – shifting legitimacy from voters to the courts.”

TIMES OF NIGERIA understands that Atiku’s reform proposals include mandatory use of BVAS for accreditation, compulsory electronic transmission of results from polling units to INEC’s iREV platform, and elimination of manual collation at all levels.

He also advocated that the appointments of INEC Chairman, Resident Electoral Commissioners, and National Commissioners should be subjected to democratic voting, and that INEC, not petitioners, must prove compliance with the law in electoral disputes.

According to him, these reforms would “return power to the people to choose their leaders and not a conclave of interested parties.”