The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged Senate President Godswill Akpabio and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas to immediately withdraw a proposed bill that seeks to impose a six-month jail term or a fine of N100,000, or both, on eligible Nigerians who fail to vote in national and state elections.
In a letter dated March 29, 2025, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation described the proposed legislation as “oppressive” and a violation of citizens’ rights under the Nigerian Constitution and international human rights laws. The letter was shared in a Sunday press statement released to The PUNCH.
“Jailing eligible Nigerians for deciding not to vote would be entirely inconsistent and incompatible with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international human rights obligations,” the letter stated.
The bill, titled ‘Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act 2022 to Make It Mandatory for All Nigerians of Majority Age to Vote in All National and State Elections and for Related Matters’, seeks to make voting compulsory for all eligible citizens.
SERAP argued that the proposal infringes on the right of citizens to choose whether or not to participate in elections.
“The right to vote includes the right not to vote. If the right to participation is a right of the citizen, she/he must be free to decide whether or not to exercise it,” SERAP stated.
Instead of criminalising voter apathy, SERAP called on the National Assembly to focus on electoral reforms aimed at removing constitutional immunity for state governors and their deputies involved in electoral offences.
“The National Assembly ought to propose bills to reduce the influence of money in politics and encourage — not compel — the exercise of the right to participation,” the group noted.
Additionally, SERAP recommended measures to prevent the appointment of partisan individuals as Resident Electoral Commissioners in the Independent National Electoral Commission. It also urged amendments to improve voter registration processes using technology and secure voting mechanisms.
SERAP warned that it would consider taking legal action if the bill is passed into law.
“Should the National Assembly fail to drop the bill prescribing a six-month jail term for eligible Nigerians who decide not to vote, and should any such bill be assented to by President Bola Tinubu, SERAP would consider appropriate legal action to challenge the legality of any such law and ensure they are never implemented,” the statement added.
