THE ELECTROL PROCESS (P.8)

THE ELECTROL PROCESS

Franchise is the right to vote. It is the qualification for registration as an elector or voter. Franchise could also be defined as right of qualified citizens to vote and be voted for. Another name for franchise is suffrage.

Types of Suffrage

There are two types of suffrage namely;

(a)  Limited Suffrage, otherwise known as restricted Franchise

(b)  Unlimited Suffrage, otherwise known as universal Franchise or Universal Adult Suffrage.

Limited Suffrage:  limited suffrage is also called restricted franchise. In limited suffrage, the right to vote is restricted or not given to everybody. The right to vote is given only to those who are able to fulfill the special condition or requirement expected of every eligible voter under the law of the state. Some of such special qualifications include:

(i)         Property Qualification: here the voter is expected to possess some property which may be land, house or industry.

(ii)        Income Qualification: here the voter is expected to belong to certain income group, probably the high income group. Also this qualification is sometimes referred to as wealthy people are allowed to vote.

(iii)       Educational Qualification: this requires that the voter must attain a certain level of education before being eligible to vote. It may also be that the voter must be literate. In other words it means that only educated or literate people are allowed to vote.

(iv)       Sexual Qualification: in some places, for instance in Northern Nigeria before independence only men are allowed to vote. This means that women are excluded from voting.

Arguments in Favor of Limited Suffrage

Some countries adopt limited franchise because of the following reasons;

(i)         It is argued that the greater a man’s wealth or property, the greater is his stake in the country. It is believed that he is more likely to exercise his vote more responsibly than a person of less wealth, since he will be affected to a greater extent by political decisions.

(ii)        It is argued that income tends to reflect greater ability and therefore by giving the vote only to those in the higher income group, the franchise is being restricted to more able section of the society.

(iii)       It is also argued that by limiting the vote to only the educated or literate people, better leaders are selected to manage the affairs of the government. This is because only the wise ones or those who understand what they are voting for are allowed to vote. The foolish ones or the ignorant ones who don’t even know the importance of government, talk more of understanding why they should vote are prevented from using their voting power to elect incapable people into government.

Argument against Limited Suffrage

The following are reasons advanced against adoption of limited suffrage by countries;

(i)         If the Franchise or suffrage is restricted to the rich or wealthy, then the country will be run for the benefit of the rich. Taxes for instance, will tend to fall more heavily on the poor ones who are not represented in the government.

(ii)        If the vote is restricted to the educated ones only, it is important to note that education does not necessarily confer common-sense. It is also pertinent to note that if the educational qualification is set very high, the group entitled to vote and therefore exercise political power may be quite out of touch with the general feelings of the population as a whole. It was Harold Laski who said that “Exclusion from power means exclusion from the benefits of power”.

(iii)       Under modern conditions and in democratic societies the vote is regarded as a fundamental right which cannot be denied anyone. Therefore to restrict or limit the vote to some section of the society thereby disenfranchising some people, means infringing on the fundamental human right of such people which is litigatable in law. Most laws of civilized countries abhor this kind of limitation. The above reasons against limited Franchise led to some countries adopting universal suffrage.

Unlimited Franchise

The unlimited franchise which is also known as the universal adult suffrage is the type of franchise which gives the right to vote to all citizens who have reached or attained a certain minimum age irrespective of sex or other qualification. In Nigeria and America for instance, the minimum voting age for Universal Franchise is 18 years, while in some other countries it is 21 years. Therefore, there is no fixed age for universal suffrage, but the age varies from country to country according to the stipulation of the law.

The process of denying a qualified person the right to vote is known as disenfranchisement. A person who has been denied the right to vote is said to be disenfranchised.

Qualification for Voting Under Universal Franchise

In countries such as Nigeria where universal suffrage operate, a voter in other to be eligible to vote is expected to fulfill the following qualifications or conditions:

(i)         The voter must not be a criminal in the prison or a lunatic

(ii)        Citizenship: the voter must not be an alien or a foreigner. The voter must be either a native-born or a naturalized citizen.

(iii)       Age Qualification: the voter must attain the minimum age required by law.

(iv)       Residential Qualification: sometimes a voter may be required by law to live up to certain number of years like say two years in a particular place where he or she wants to vote. The reason is to make the voter accustomed with the problems and customs of the people where he or she wants to vote.

(v)        Registration: before any voter can qualify to cast his vote like say Nigeria, the voter must have registered during the registration period. Secondly, the voter must have a voting card and the name must appear in the voters register on the day of the election.

Argument in Favor of Universal Suffrage

   Universal suffrage is democratic

   Universal suffrage makes it possible for government to be run for the interest of both the rich and the poor.

   Universal suffrage allows both the educated and the non-educated to be represented in government.

   Universal suffrage ensures that the right to vote which is regarded as a fundamental human right is not denied to anyone.

Arguments against Universal Suffrage

Universal suffrage produces an electorate which in the mass is:

   Ignorant

   Short-sighted

   Emotional

   Prone to blind prejudice