Civil Society, Journalists join forces to reinforce democracy

Free and fair elections are the foundation of democracy, ensuring legitimacy, yet Nigeria’s electoral system faces entrenched difficulties that hinder its progress.

These challenges range from attacks on journalists to vote buying and political interference, and these obstacles weaken public trust in the system.

In recognition of the urgent need for reform, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) convened an advocacy meeting in Abuja to chart a path towards credible elections beginning with the Anambra election scheduled for November, 2025.

The meeting brough together key stakeholders from the media and civil society, with a call on them to uphold the pivotal role of safeguarding democracy in the country.

Speaker after speaker at the meeting, highlighted pressing concerns, including political influence in media ownership, electoral malpractice, proliferation of fake news, and the independence or otherwise of electoral bodies.

They also called for stricter accountability from security agencies following documented attacks on 89 journalists during the 2023 elections.

To address these concerns, the meeting produced a series of resolutions including urging journalists to intensify investigative reporting, hold public officials accountable, and collaborate with civil society to promote voter education.

The meeting also called on President Ahmed Tinubu, to ensure that politically exposed persons are not appointed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while it tasked the National Assembly with unbundling INEC and making electronic result transmission mandatory.

In also urged security agencies to protect journalists covering elections and eliminate the militarisation of the electoral process.

Political parties on its part, were reminded of their duty to uphold internal democracy, transparent campaign financing, and issue-based campaigns.

The essence of these discussions was to safeguard Nigeria’s democracy by ensuring electoral transparency, press freedom, and accountability at all levels especially as the nation prepares for the 2027 general elections, hence the collaboration between civil society and the media remains a powerful force in shaping a more credible electoral process.