Fayemi Calls for Electoral Reform, Says 35% Vote Should Not Be Declared President

The former governor of Ekiti State and ex-minister of solid minerals, Kayode Fayemi, has advocated for a radical change in Nigeria’s political system, saying that the current winner-takes-all approach is not sustainable and does not reflect the diversity of the country.

Fayemi made this call at a symposium to celebrate the 60th birthday of Professor Udenta Udenta, a renowned scholar and activist, in Abuja on Tuesday afternoon. He said Nigeria should adopt a system of proportional representation that would ensure that political parties and candidates get a fair share of power and resources based on their performance at the polls.

He said: “What we need is alternative politics. My own notion of alternative politics is that you can’t have 35 per cent of the vote and take 100 per cent. It won’t work.”

He argued that such a system would reduce the tension and bitterness that often characterise presidential elections in Nigeria, as well as promote inclusiveness and accountability.

He said: “We must look at proportional representation so that the party that is said to have won 21 per cent of the votes will have 21 per cent of the government. Adversary politics bring division and enmity.”

Newsflash Nigeria reports that Nigeria currently operates a federal constitutional system that allows anyone who scored the most votes from scores of candidates to be president.

The country has no run-off arrangement that eliminates candidates and ultimately picks a winner after a few rounds, in case no one scores above 50 per cent in the first round.

President Bola Tinubu was declared the winner of the February 25 exercise with only 36.6 per cent of the votes, while his two main rivals, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP), scored 29 per cent and 25.4 per cent, respectively.

Fayemi’s call for electoral reform echoes the sentiments of many Nigerians who have expressed dissatisfaction with the current system and demanded a review of the constitution to address the issues of electoral malpractice, violence, rigging, and marginalisation .

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