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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Nigerian armed forces to take over conduct of future elections: a recommendation |
Author: | Adekanye, J. 'Bayo |
Year: | 1988 |
Periodical: | Quarterly Journal of Administration |
Volume: | 23 |
Issue: | 1-2 |
Pages: | 27-38 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | elections civil-military relations |
Abstract: | With the exception of the general elections held in December 1976, August 1977, and July-August 1979, all three under military rule, most of the elections organized in Nigeria since independence have taken place amidst acute violence. Therefore, the author recommends that the conduct of elections be considered an 'extraordinary' matter and that the Nigerian armed forces be charged with their supervision. The proposal assumes that succession to political leadership is a requisite to 'peaceful change', that election periods in Nigeria often take on the character of a 'state of emergency', that the extraordinary measures in force after the proclamation of a state of emergency are prerequisite to the conduct of free and fair elections, that the armed forces can conduct a relatively free and fair election, and that an armed forces organization that is truly national cannot dissociate itself from the body politic. The proposal does require one important structural precondition: the present armed forces need to be broadened as regards membership and reoriented in terms of outlook, even as existing members' monopoly of the instruments of coercion undergoes substantial democratization. App. (code of conduct for members of the armed forces 1979 general elections). |