Placeholders should not be viewed negatively – Dazang

In this interview, a former director of public enlightenment at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Nick Dazang, explained why substitution of candidates should not be viewed negatively, saying the provision has been abused over the years.

In what circumstances does the law allow for the substitution of candidates before elections?

Candidates can voluntarily withdraw from contesting elections. Unfortunately, candidates could also die, either ahead of the conduct of the elections or in the middle. In these instances, the law allows political parties to substitute in order to fill the subsisting voids.

Section 33 of the Electoral Act 2026 addresses these eventualities. It states: “A political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under section 29 of the act, except in the case of death or withdrawal of the candidate. In the case of such withdrawal or death of a candidate, the political party affected shall, within 14 days of the occurrence of the event, hold another primary election to produce and submit a new candidate to the commission for the election concerned.”

But this has enabled what is now referred to as ‘placeholders’ in the Nigerian electoral system. Is this not a corruption of the intendment of that provision?

Placeholders or interim holders are a purely Nigerian invention – shortly before the conduct of the 2023 general elections when three political parties, namely, the All Progressives Congress(APC), the Labour Party(LP) and the New Nigeria Peoples Party(NNPP) forwarded the list of their presidential candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC) and listed their respective running mates as “placeholders.”

The phenomenon of placeholders is not only a corruption of the electoral process, it is its violation. This is because it is strange to the constitution, the electoral act and the guidelines and regulations of INEC.

Has the provision helped the electoral process in any way?

Substitution of candidates has enhanced the process to the extent that it fills lacunae or gaps created either by voluntary withdrawal of candidates or their deaths. Democracy thrives on contestation. It will lose its flavour and value if there are no contestants canvassing different ideas.

Is that to say that the system condones hoodwinking the electorate into believing that someone has been chosen only for the person to substituted?

It is the prerogative of candidates to pick their running mates. Given our peculiarities, certain considerations and calculations are involved. However, the name of the candidate and his/her running mate should always be submitted in compliance with the law and INEC guidelines and regulations. It should not be at the whim, timing or choosing of the candidate or his/her political party.

We have seen the case of Abubakar Audu, where his running mate could not succeed him when he died before the declaration of results. How relevant then is the insistence that candidates must pick running mates before they qualify to contest elections?

At the time Abubakar Audu died – on November 22, 2015 – the law did not make allowance for a running mate succeeding his candidate in the middle of an election. Recall that we were, at that time, operating the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Section 36 of that repealed Act (2010) only provided for the death of a candidate at the point of nomination. However, subsequent acts, 2022 and 2026, which replaced the defunct act have addressed this. Section 34(3) of the Electoral Act 2026 states: “If after the commencement of a poll and before the announcement of the final result and declaration of a winner, a candidate dies, (a)the commission shall, being satisfied of the fact of the death, suspend the election for a period not more than 21 days; and (b) in the case of election into a legislative house, the election shall start afresh and the political party whose candidate died, may, if it intends to continue to participate in the election, conduct a fresh primary within 14 days of the death of its candidate and submit the name of a new candidate to the commission to replace the dead candidate:

provided that in the case of presidential or gubernatorial or Federal Capital Territory Area Council election, the running mate shall continue with the election and nominate a new running mate.”

Would you advise that the substitution of candidates before elections is retained in the electoral process?

Yes. Substitution of candidates should be retained in our law because it addresses two challenges – voluntary withdrawal and death – which are inevitable.

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