ELECTION BOYCOTT AND SOME INSTANCES OF ELECTION BOYCOTT IN THE WORLD

Since IPOB called for election boycott in Biafraland there has been tension. For some, it sounds as if it is a taboo just because such has never happened in Nigeria, because of thee corrupt nature of Nigeria and its government For other countries, even in Africa, it happens almost in every election. 

In a democratic form of government, where power is vested in the hands of the people, voting is the most precious right of all. In a democratic form of government voting would be one of the ways that the people exercise the power vested in them, either directly by voting on issues, budgets, and policies, or indirectly by voting for representatives who are obligated to represent their constituents. In a democratic form of government elected representatives can be directly recalled by the people at any time that they fail to represent the people who elected them. 

Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud is likely, or that the electoral system is biased against its candidates, or the polity organizing the election lacks legitimacy, or that the candidates running are very unpopular. In jurisdictions with compulsory voting, a boycott may amount to an act of civil disobedience; alternatively, supporters of the boycott may be able to cast blank votes or vote for "none of the above". Boycotting voters may belong to a particular regional or ethnic group. A particular political party or candidate may refuse to run in the election and urge its supporters to boycott same.

In the case of a referendum, a boycott may be used as a voting tactic by opponents of the opposition. If the referendum requires a minimum turnout to be valid, the boycott may prevent this quorum being reached.

In general elections, individuals and parties will often boycott in order to protest the ruling party's policies, with the hope that when voters do not show up the elections will be deemed illegitimate by outside observers. This tactic, however, can prove disastrous for the boycotting parties. Lack of participation rarely nullifies election results and the distorted voting is likely to further detach boycotting groups from the organs of power, leaving them susceptible to political irrelevance.

MAHATMA K. GANDHI, NON-VIOLENT CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE, 1915-1948

Known by the honorific title “Mahatma,” Gandhi is the man most identified with peaceful protest.  He led, in India,  a protest against various British policies, and campaigned for the independence of his country, which was finally granted.  He also fought for civil rights (freedom of religion, women’s rights, retirement of the caste system) and set himself as a symbol of tolerance.  One example of his idea of being civilly disobedient was to sit at a spinning wheel and make thread to weave his own cloth, as the British had specified that India must buy all her cloth from Great Britain, even though the cotton had originally come from India.  Often jailed, he is also famous for his hunger strikes; however, it took an assassin’s bullet in 1948 to bring about his demise.

MONTGOMERY BUS BOYCOTT, 1955-1956.

The most famous American example is the boycott in Montgomery, Alabama of segregated buses.  When African-American Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to go to the black section in the back of the bus, African-Americans and sympathetic white people refused to use the public transit system, opting instead to walk, to ride their bikes or to car pool.  This year-long boycott was one of the most successful civil rights protests of the 1950s, and it resulted in the Supreme Court declaring segregation on buses to be unconstitutional.

IVORIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 2000

A presidential election was held in Ivory Coast on 22 October, 2000. Robert Guéï, who headed a transitional military regime following the December 1999 coup d'état, stood as a candidate in the election. All of the major opposition candidates except for Laurent Gbagbo of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI) were barred from standing. The Rally of the Republicans (RDR) and Democratic Party of Côte d'Ivoire-African Democratic Rally (PDCI-RCA) boycotted the election in response to the exclusion of their candidates (respectively, Alassane Ouattara and Emile Constant Bombet) by the Supreme Court.

TOGOLESE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1993

Presidential elections were held in Togo on 25 August, 1993. They were the first presidential elections in the country to feature more than one candidate. However, the major opposition parties boycotted the election, and only two minor candidates ran against incumbent President Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who ultimately won over 95% of the vote. 

GAMBIAN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION, 2002

Parliamentary elections were held in the Gambia on 17 January, 2002. They were boycotted by several opposition parties, including the United Democratic Party. As a result, the ruling Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction of President Yahya Jammeh ran unopposed in 33 of the 48 elected seats and won 12 of the 15 seats in which they had opposition.

MALIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, 1997

Presidential elections were held in Mali on 11 May, 1997. They were boycotted by the main opposition parties and saw incumbent president Alpha Oumar Konaré of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali re-elected with 84.4% of the vote, although turnout was just 29.0%.

Obulose Chidiebere N

City Writers