The world watched in fascination the intrigues that surrounded the American presidential election, it started out as a race between former president Donald Trump who had lost his reelection bid to Joe Biden in 2020, and Biden who is the current president. For months there were speculations that Biden was suffering from the “too old to rule” syndrome, but his supporters, family and staff insisted everything was ok, he was fit as a fiddle and was ready to run again. 

Until the debate in June, less than five months to the election, ended their delusion. The events that followed were very interesting, from two assassination attempts on Trump (with the first attempt miraculously missing his head by seconds) and Kamala Harris becoming the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. The Indian-Black American Vice President and Biden’s running mate became the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party, without participating in a primary but getting the endorsement of President Biden (the winner of the primaries) first after he was “forced” to drop out of the race. The intrigues of the election felt like a very interesting Netflix limited series. 

It reminded me a lot of how this could have played out in Nigeria, from old men insisting they are fit to be president of the country, with the media and their supporters aiding them in that lie, to assassination attempts on the popular opposition candidate, and a lack of internal democratic process that saw the emergence of the presidential candidate of the ruling party. There were also accusations of election interference, accusations and counter accusations of attempts to steal the election, election officials attempting to disenfranchise voters, filling up the voting lists with unqualified voters, threats and concern of violence, threats of bombing voting centres, burning of ballots in mail boxes. At times, it was difficult to believe that this was happening in a country that prides itself as the bastion of democracy, leader of the free world. A democracy where the press looks like it is tied to the apron strings of political parties and big donors or billionaire owners. The independence of the American press was called into question, reminiscent of what is obtainable in third world democracies. It is a testament to the triumph and beauty of social media that we are exposed to this America.

Another interesting fact of the election worth noting is how expensive the electoral process was, candidates and their political parties spent billions of dollars on campaigns, ads, town hall meeting, and so on, it was mind boggling. This is something that happens in Nigeria that I find very odd, a country so poor but its electoral process is so expensive. From the cost of party nomination forms, to campaigns for party tickets and then campaigning for the election proper, aspirants and candidates are forced to cough out hundreds of millions and sometimes this figure gets into billions. The expense in Nigeria is very peculiar when you factor in funds earmarked for gerrymandering. In a country where free and fair elections do not exist and bribery and corruption is woven into the fabrics of its existence, money kept aside for election manipulation is the most important money. Generally, I believe this sort of expensive democracy is not the democratic ideal and should be discouraged by all lovers of democracy. And in the case of Nigeria, if we do not sanitise the electoral process and get rid of the big money processes and corruption starting from the party nomination to the main elections, then we don’t stand a chance.

For me, the biggest takeaway was that in spite of all the drama and shortcomings, the elections were relatively free and fair; votes counted. This is something that we as Nigerians do not get to experience; an election devoid of electoral manipulations and where votes count. The first time I experienced an election that was remotely free and fair and truly reflected the will of the majority was in 2011, the then president Goodluck Jonathan was said to have asked his supporters not to rig elections for him because he wanted Nigerians to love him, he wanted to gain their trust and did not want to repeat the pattern of election interference that ushered him in as vice president. He wanted a Nigerian electoral process where votes count and where the political class work for their votes while in office, as against intimidating, interfering and bribing their way into office. A noble idea that cost him the 2015 presidential election, the Nigerian political landscape is not one where noble ideas like giving electoral power to the electorates can survive. There needs to be a holistic change in the country before this can happen.

The fact that the results reflect the true wishes of the American people, irrespective of the outcome they reflect the will of the people is the most important factor in a democracy. It gives the people a sense of belonging, a sense of ownership; a feeling that this is their country, that belong in this place, to this place.

This will also help pundits, academics, politicians and whoever is involved with elections to effectively plan, forecast and introspect. People are able to plan and understand if their candidates fail and strategize on what to do better, understand their lapses, failures and strengths. This is not something that you can do when elections are stolen, when you vote for you A in the morning and B is announced in the middle of the night. Apart from being purely evil, how do you plan for the future of your country in this scenario?

Whatever the outcome is, whatever pain you felt, you know that your votes mattered; your choice wasn’t stolen in the middle of the night. You did not face death and danger just to cast your vote, voting for your choice in an election did not cost your limb, it was not a matter of life and death. This is the one thing I wish and pray that I get to experience in my life in Nigeria, a country where my votes count, where my votes matter. And until we get this process right, we do not stand a chance as a country.

Kelechi Belinda Udeogu has a PhD in development and political communication.