By Otunba Segun Showunmi

As Nigeria continues to deepen its democratic journey, electoral reforms have largely focused on technology, voter accreditation, result transmission, campaign finance, and election dispute resolution. However, one critical issue that deserves greater attention is the sequencing of elections and its impact on democratic representation.

The current practice of conducting presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives elections on the same day may be administratively convenient, but it also encourages what political scientists describe as the “coattail effect.”

The coattail effect occurs when the popularity of a presidential candidate influences voters to support other candidates from the same political party, regardless of their individual qualifications or competence. Studies from both established and emerging democracies show that strong presidential candidates often boost the electoral fortunes of legislative candidates who might otherwise face closer scrutiny.

According to Showunmi, Nigeria is no exception.

Although separate ballot papers are used for different offices, many voters make decisions based primarily on party affiliation rather than individual candidates. As a result, the intensity of presidential campaigns often overshadows legislative contests, leading to outcomes driven by party momentum instead of careful evaluation.

This, he argues, means highly qualified legislative candidates can lose because their party’s presidential candidate lacks widespread support, while less qualified aspirants may ride to victory on the popularity of their party’s presidential flag bearer.

Impact on Representative Democracy

Showunmi contends that this trend undermines the quality of representation in Nigeria’s democracy.

He notes that the constitutional responsibilities of the President, Senators, and members of the House of Representatives are distinct, yet the current electoral arrangement encourages voters to make all three choices simultaneously under the influence of a single political narrative.

“The result is a distortion of voter preference and, in some cases, a weakening of legislative quality,” he stated.

Proposed Electoral Reforms

To address the challenge, Showunmi proposes a review of Nigeria’s election sequencing.

One option, he says, is to stagger elections on the same day by assigning different voting periods for each office:

Presidential Election: 8:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.

Senatorial Election: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

House of Representatives Election: 12:00 noon – 2:00 p.m.

He also suggests a more comprehensive reform by holding presidential and legislative elections on separate dates within the electoral calendar. According to him, this would give voters more time to assess the competence, records, and policy positions of legislative candidates independently.

Expected Benefits

Showunmi believes separating the elections would:

Increase voter attention to legislative contests.

Ensure lawmakers are elected based on their own merits rather than presidential popularity.

Encourage political parties to recruit stronger candidates at every level.

Promote a political culture where voters clearly distinguish between executive and legislative responsibilities.

While acknowledging concerns about higher costs and increased logistics, he argues that the long-term gains for Nigeria’s democracy outweigh the challenges.

“The issue before us is not simply electoral efficiency but democratic quality,” he said.

He concluded that Nigeria’s democracy would be strengthened when citizens are empowered to evaluate each office independently and electoral outcomes reflect informed choices rather than partisan momentum.

Showunmi urged policymakers, political parties, scholars, and civil society organisations to give serious consideration to the effect of election sequencing on representative democracy, stressing that electoral systems should enable voters to make deliberate, informed, and independent decisions.

This article is an opinion by Otunba Segun Showunmi and reflects the author’s views.