The Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED) has expressed alarmed by the conduct and outcome of the recently concluded Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
The centre said that rather than reinforcing democratic governance at the grassroots, the elections exposed troubling weaknesses in Nigeria’s electoral system and raised serious questions about the credibility of democratic processes under the current administration.
Dr. Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, Executive Director of CHRICED, said in Abuja that observations reveal that the elections fell far short of democratic standards and public expectations, despite the declared outcomes of the elections.
He noted that the results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), showed candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) secured chairmanship victories in Kuje, Bwari, Kwali, Abaji, and Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won in Gwagwalada. However, beyond the declared outcomes, CHRICED’s observations reveal that the elections fell far short of democratic standards and public expectations.
“CHRICED is particularly disturbed by the shockingly low voter turnout. INEC’s figures show that out of 1,682,315 registered voters in the FCT, only 239,210—representing a mere 14.24%—participated in the elections. AMAC, with 837,338 registered voters, recorded only 65,676 votes cast, amounting to just 7.8%.
“This means that a tiny fraction of eligible voters determined leadership for millions of residents. Such a scenario represents a profound democratic deficit and signals a dangerous erosion of public trust.
“As CHRICED noted during its observation, “people are fed up with unpopular policies of this government.” The widespread apathy reflects a growing belief that elections are predetermined, skewed in favour of those in power, and incapable of producing genuine representation. This perception is corrosive to democracy and must not be ignored,” Zikirullahi said.
While describing the FCT elections as a mockery of electoral integrity, he said that the elections were marred by rampant vote buying, late arrival of election materials, poor logistics coordination, weak voter education; intimidation and inducement at polling units; and lax enforcement of electoral guidelines.
According to him, while the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) made arrests and recovered cash from suspects, these efforts barely scratched the surface of the widespread vote trading observed across the FCT, vote buying has become institutionalized, turning elections into transactional exercises rather than civic duties.
The CHRICED boss said that if elections in just six Area Councils could be riddled with such failures, the implications for the 2027 general elections are deeply troubling.
He, therefore, called for urgent electoral reforms, saying, “To restore public confidence and safeguard Nigeria’s democracy, CHRICED calls for immediate and far‑reaching reforms. We strongly recommend the introduction of a mandatory minimum voter turnout threshold before any election result can be declared valid.”
He also called for the full implementation of the Justice Uwais Electoral Reform recommendations; deployment of real‑time electoral surveillance technology, digital tracking of political finance and campaign spending; sronger legislation criminalizing vote trading, with enforceable penalties; swift prosecution of offenders to deter future violations; and structured collaboration between INEC, anti‑corruption agencies, civil society, and security institutions.
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