By Khalid Idris Doya
Former Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan has called on political parties, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the judiciary to play stronger roles in protecting and deepening democracy across Africa.
Jonathan made the call on Tuesday in Bauchi while delivering a vote of thanks at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) Democracy Dialogue held at the Ahmadu Bello International Conference Centre (ICC).
The dialogue, with the theme, "Beyond Elections: Can Political Parties and Judiciary Save African Democracy?", brought together political leaders, jurists, civil society actors and other stakeholders to examine the state and future of democracy on the continent.
Jonathan said political parties must evolve into genuine democratic institutions by upholding internal democracy, choosing credible leaders, respecting their own rules, formulating sound policies and placing national interest above partisan considerations.
He stressed that parties had a major responsibility to screen and present credible candidates for elective positions, noting that meeting the constitutional requirements for contesting an election should not be the only consideration.
The former President recalled that at the beginning of the Fourth Republic, security agencies participated in screening individuals seeking political offices.
He said the practice changed after members of the National Assembly argued that the constitution provided the qualifications for contesting elections and did not require security screening. "As a result, the burden was passed on to the political parties," he said.
Jonathan therefore urged political parties to take responsibility for ensuring that individuals of questionable character were not given party tickets simply because they met the constitutional requirements to contest elections.
He said a person could technically meet the constitutional requirements to contest an election without necessarily possessing the character expected of someone seeking public office.
"Ordinarily, the parties are supposed to say, 'This man or this woman does not have the qualities of representing anybody,' and refuse to give such a person their ticket," he said.
However, Jonathan acknowledged the difficulties political parties could face, particularly when candidates with questionable character possessed the financial resources to prosecute party primaries, "That becomes a problem," he said.
The former President said the situation becomes even more complicated when courts are called upon to adjudicate disputes arising from party primaries and elections.
He questioned whether political parties would genuinely reject candidates they considered unsuitable after such individuals had successfully emerged from their primaries.
Jonathan also questioned how courts should approach electoral disputes involving candidates who emerged through processes recognised as party primaries, "This is a complex system, just like the retired judge said," he noted.
On the judiciary, Jonathan said courts handling political and electoral disputes must remain independent, impartial and faithful to the law.
"As the final guardian of constitutional order, it must remain independent, impartial and faithful to the law," saying that judicial system must consistently uphold fairness and balance in determining disputes.
"The judge is supposed to be blind, holding the scale, and based on the balance of evidence," he said.
He stressed that justice must be applied fairly and that all parties must be treated equally before the law.
Jonathan expressed concern that electoral disputes in some African countries were increasingly being settled in courtrooms rather than at the ballot boxes.
He, however, noted that Nigeria's experience was significantly different from that of many other African countries, describing the scale of electoral litigation in the country as "Very anomalous."
He recalled questioning how a person could be elected governor or president and still spend a significant part of the tenure defending election-related cases in court. "How can somebody be elected as a governor or a president, or any other position, while sitting in office you are still going to court?" he asked.
Jonathan also questioned the purpose of constitutional immunity if elected officials could still face prolonged litigation while in office.
"Can we do something that all this must end before we are inaugurated?" he recalled asking.
He said the question elicited a surprised reaction from his South African counterpart, which, according to him, underscored how unusual Nigeria's experience with prolonged electoral litigation was compared with other African democracies.
Jonathan also called for greater space for civil society organisations to operate freely, stressing that restrictions on civic organisations undermine democratic practice.
"If civil society is not allowed to be active in any country, then, of course, they are not practising the kind of standard democracy by definition," he said.
He acknowledged that no country could score perfectly on every democratic principle, but said countries where democracy was flourishing should demonstrate substantial compliance with its fundamental pillars.
According to him, where a country consistently upholds most of those principles, its democracy is more likely to remain stable, resilient and sustainable.
"But when several of these foundations of democracy are weakened, what emerges is not a genuine democracy, but a pseudo-democracy, one that retains democratic forms while steadily losing democratic substance and legitimacy," he said.
Former Nigeria's President also stressed that the Democracy Dialogue was designed to examine the broader African political environment rather than focus solely on Nigeria. "That is why this conversation is not about Nigeria alone. It is about Africa," he said.
He expressed concern that more than 60 per cent of the discussions at the event had focused on Nigeria's political environment despite the continental focus of the dialogue.
"We wanted an African political environment and analysis that will cut across the continent, not just about Nigeria," he said.
Jonathan explained that the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation would organise a separate conference next year focusing largely on Nigeria's political environment as the country approaches another election cycle.
He said the current dialogue was deliberately designed to examine democratic challenges across Africa. He therefore urged participants to critically and honestly assess how their respective countries measure up against accepted democratic standards.
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