Electoral act amendment bill: Highlights of Electoral Act President Buhari sign into Law

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari don sign di Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 into law.

Buhari sign di Electoral Act on Friday for di Council chambers of di presidential villa for Abuja.

Dis new law go affect di way political parties go prepare for di 2023 general elections.

Di new Act provide a legal framework wey empower di Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC] to deploy technological solutions for elections in Nigeria.

Buhari for im speech describe di bill as reformative and progressive.

Di Nigerian leader say e go epp make di Nigerian electoral process dey transparent and kampe.

E say di National Assembly gatz still rework section 84(12) of di act.

Dis na sake of say e dey prevent political office to vote and be voted for during dia party primaries.

And di Nigerian leader maintain say dat one dey against di constitution.

Seven ways di new Electoral Act go shape Nigeria 2023 elections

  • Di bill give financial independence to INEC. A di act ensure say all di moni wey dem need to conduct election dey released a year before di time of di election.
  • Di new act provide extension of timelines for key electoral activities. Di act ensure comprehensive breakdown of electoral activities to address di logistics wahala wey di happun during election for Nigeria.
  • Di electoral act encourage early party primaries so dat parties go choose dia candidates on time and ensure say printing of ballot no dey delay. Di time frame to submit di names of party candidates don shift from 60 days to 180 days.
  • Timeframe for campaigns by political parties don shift from 90 days to 150 days before polling day and to end 24 hours before to di election.
  • Di bill also don revise di meaning of over voting. Di total number of accredited voters go now become di basis for di validity of votes for election.
  • Di bill give INEC power to review election result wey dem declare under questionable circumstances.
  • Di bill also allow say in a situation wia a candidate wey contest di election for before di announcement of result die, di party go conduct anoda primaries to substitute di candidate and INEC get 21 days to do conclude di election and declare di winner. And in di case of di post of president and govnor, di deputy go kontinu wit di election and chose im deputy.

Wetin bin cause issue for di electoral amendment bill?

Before di passage of di Electoral Amendment Bill to law, both di lawmakers and presidency bin face kata-kata on top some aspect of di bill.

Sake of di katakata wey dey always follow election for Nigeria, di Senate for 2019 begin fresh moves to address dis challenges as dem try chook eye for di Electoral Act again.

Di katakata include: like cases of violence, ballot box snatching, bloodshed and oda electoral misbehaviour.

For 2019, one bill for an Act to ensure say di Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) adopt electronic voting method for future elections dey introduced and di Bill scale through second reading without any wahala.

With di amendment, e dey expected say INEC go operate an electronic database into which all results for election go dey transmitted.

Di Bill dey titled, “A Bill for an Act to Amend di Electoral Act No.6 2010 and for Other Related Matters, 2019(SB.122).

E dey sponsored by Deputy President of di Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, and Co-sponsored by Senator Abubakar Kyari.

Dis new law dey reason di amendment of Section 65 of di Electoral Act 2010 by introducing a “National Electronic Register of Election Results.

INEC

Reuters
Di electoral act bin look into electronic voting

Electoral act amendment bill – Wetin di new act mean

Wetin e mean be say, di new amendment demands say data of accredited voters must dey transmitted to di central data base.

Dis gatz happun afta di conclusion of di accreditation of voters wey vote through di use of di card reader.

Di act also reason say, “at di end of accreditation of voters, di presiding officer go transmit di voter accreditation data by secure mobile electronic communication.

Di polling official suppose send am go di central database of di commission wey dem hide for di national headquarters of di commission.”

Debate for electoral act amendment bill

As di lawmakers gada on Thursday to reason di Electoral Act Amendment Bill again, division bin start wen di Committee on INEC on Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 present dia recommendations.

Di Bill bin cause division among di lawmakers for both di lower and upper chamber.

Na over wen dem debate over di mode of transmission of results by di Independent National Electoral Commission on election day.

Some lawmakers bin argue say na di work of INEC.

Odas debate say di power to determine how dem go take transmit election result electronically suppose dey di hand of di Nigeria Communications Commission wit di approval of di National Assembly.