Political Campaigns And Financial Donations; Exploring The Restrictions In The Electoral Act’ 2022
The apparency for transparency in political activities is reflected in newer, restrictive legislative mandates on electoral financing.
In light of the upcoming February 2023 Presidential Elections, it is expedient to interrogate the modifications introduced by the newly amended Electoral Act’ 2022, particularly with respect to electoral funding and financing.
The Electoral Act has made definite provisions on the limits and ambit of electoral funding. Importantly, Sec 88, subsection 2&3 of the Electoral Act says that the maximum electoral expenses to be incurred by candidates at presidential and governorship is 1billion in Nigerian currency, while that of senatorial and House of Representatives are 100 million and 70 million Naira respectively.
More importantly, subsection 8 touches on limitations on financial donations to electoral candidates by saying, “ No individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate any amount exceeding 50 million”.
Also, Sec 95(2) of the Act states that, “No state apparatus (Money, vehicles, personnel, aircraft, public buildings) including the media shall be employed to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate at any election”.
It is also instructive to note that Sec 90(3) of the Act says that, “A political party shall not accept any monetary or other contribution which is more than 50 million unless it can identify the source of the money or other contribution to the commission”.
It thus appears that the outright limitation to the funding available to electoral candidates does not apply to their parties, and such, provided the funds are traceable to a verifiable and accountable source, moneys in excess of 50 million may be well received.
In line with these limitations, INEC has equally imposed detailed auditing requirements for political parties. Thus, Sec 86 requires a political party to submit annual reports while Sec 89(3) mandates the submission of ‘election expenses report’ within six months after the election. Sec 90(3) requires the submission of ‘election contribution report’ within three months of announcement of election results.
With respect to foreign donations, Sec 225(3)a and b of the Nigerian Constitution has placed limitations on receipt of funds by political parties. Thus, political parties are restricted from holding or possessing assets outside Nigeria. Furthermore, such political parties are required to remit any foreign funds to INEC within 21 days of receipt. Importantly, however, this limitation does not apply to candidates of political parties. In other words, candidates are not prohibited in any way from receiving foreign funds and donations.
The above regulatory limitations are a reflection of the changing realities of the modern political climate. The expansion of modern markets necessitates a broadening of electoral budgets. It’s however cautious to impose limits on electoral funding to safeguard the interests of the electorate, stakeholders and ultimately democracy. Therefore, the Nigerian Electoral Act 2022 is a laudable legislation in tandem with the new era.
References
1 Ameh Ochojila, “What the Law Says On Funding, Political Parties, Candidates Through Foreign Donations, available at https://guardian.ng/features/law/what-the-law-says-on-funding-political-parties-candidates-through-foreign-donations/ accessed on Dec 30, 2022
2 Unini Chioma, “Campaign Finance Law, Political Crowdfunding and Diaspora Donations In Nigeria, available at https://thenigerialawyer.com/campaign-finance-law-political-crowdfunding-and-diaspora-donations-in-nigeria/ accessed on Dec 30, 2022