Head: A Perfect Storm: Covid-19, Snap Elections, and Archaic Legal Framework (Published)
The Covid-19 pandemic has tremendous implications for democracy worldwide. Emergency measures undertaken to combat the pandemic tend to demonstrate a trade-off between public health and fundamental democratic principles. The Caribbean is not immune from this. This paper examines how Covid-19, and the calling of a snap election in Barbados scheduled for January 19, 2022, when combined with archaic election rules, led to serious implications for the conduct of the election, specifically regarding the ability of citizens to vote. The paper is divided into five sections, beginning with an introductory section. The second section examines the implications of Covid-19 for democratic participation. The third section explores the legal framework for the conduct of elections in Barbados and the limitations of that legal framework. The penultimate section discusses the implications of the snap election for electoral participation and electoral integrity. The paper ends on the need for electoral reform in the country.
Citation: Cynthia Barrow-Giles and Rico Yearwood (2022) Head- A Perfect Storm- Covid-19, Snap Elections, and Archaic Legal Framework, Global Journal of Politics and Law Research, Vol.10, No.4, pp.40-57
Keywords: Barbados, COVID-19, Constitution, Democracy, Elections, Electoral and Boundaries Commission (EBC)
An Exploration of the 2019 General Elections in Nigeria: A Review of the Legal Framework (Published)
Elections in Nigeria, particularly from 1999 after the armed forces hand over to a democratically elected government, the political authority have continued to be the foremost system of accomplishing justifiable ruling. Nigerian electoral system has been modeled after American democratic system. However, whether this electoral replica has improved democratic system in Nigeria and Africa as a whole is controversial. It must be clearly stated that ballot snatching, vote buying, distribution of food items for the purposes of winning elections always occur and the 2019 general elections is not an exception. Hence, the main focus of this article is to analyze the synopsis of elections in Nigeria and review the legal framework. From this point of view, a resonance electoral progression is intended to accomplish four essential objectives which are accountable and responsible leadership, openness, communal fairness and a passionately partaking electorate. The western world from where Nigeria copied its electoral system has significantly perfected the procedures desirable for their own environment to accomplish the aforementioned objectives while Nigeria is still battling to achieve the aforementioned goals as evidenced from numerous election Petitions that trails every election. The methodology adopted is doctrinal and the secondary research method involving the use of published scholarly books, journals, internet materials, daily newspapers, magazines and encyclopedia. At this juncture, the research recommended among other things that the electoral sanity can be accomplished through developing fundamental apparatus such as the tenet of law, parliamentary sovereignty and headship that reverence public views.
Keywords: Elections, Life, Reformation, ballot boxes, electoral law, snatch