The plan to grant voting rights to prisoners and suspects in prison custody is positive in many respects. The decision was made known by INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, at an interactive session with the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room Dialogue, which is a coalition of over 70 civil society organisations in the country. The Federal High Court in Benin-City, Edo State, had ruled in 2014 that prisoners have the right to vote in all elections conducted in the country. The caveat, however, is that not all categories of prisoners would enjoy the right.
It is a fundamental tenet of all advanced democracies that the democratic space be expanded to include all categories of voters who should be able to have a say in who governs them and how they are governed. We are glad that the country is finally thinking of giving prisoners a voice in national affairs. It is their fundamental right.
The plan to grant prisoners voting rights brings us at par with some other democracies. In the United States, for example, the right of prisoners to vote in elections is often a campaign issue, spiced with the usual racial slurs and dividing the country along the two main party platforms. Consequently, not all the states grant voting rights to their prisoners. In Africa, some countries have already granted prisoners and those in prison custody the right to vote.
So, whichever way we look at it, it is a positive development, and it is good for our democracy. This development will, in fact, put the conditions of our prisons and the welfare of prisoners on the front burner. For far too long, politicians have paid lip service to prison reforms. The fact that they now have to woo this new category of voters will probably help to focus more attention on the state of our prisons.
The prison is a place for reformation and rehabilitation. But, what we find in the country is that it has become a breeding ground for hardened criminals who come out worse than when they went in. The reasons are not farfetched. Having hardly added to the physical infrastructure inherited from our colonial masters, the prisons have become overcrowded, with the buildings completely run down and unfit for the purpose of reforming and rehabilitating prisoners. Prison inmates are subjected to all kinds of inhuman treatment. All these, plus the neglect of the prison officials who are supposed to look after them make our prisons a terrible place to be in. It is worthy of note, however, that not all categories of prisoners can exercise the right to vote, whenever the prisoners begin exercising their newly granted voting rights. Felons and all convicts on death row, for example, will not be allowed to enjoy this right. This is in consonance with the practice everywhere else in the world. It cannot be expected that citizens who have committed the capital offence will exercise rights available to law-abiding citizens.
This is why it is imperative that the electoral umpire makes clear the categories of prisoners who can vote. The next general elections in 2019 are just months away, and adequate planning is important. Past experiences have showed that simple logistics have always dogged our polls. This is why INEC must take into account every little detail in the planning and execution of this initiative to ensure that it does not fail.
We look forward to the actualisation of this plan and the advancement of the country’s democratic experience.