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President Muhammadu Buhari was on point when he declared recently that the newly signed Electoral Act Amendment Bill would improve and engender clarity, effectiveness and transparency of Nigeria’s election process. The President, who finally signed the bill into law on February 25, 2022, further noted that the Act would also reduce, to the barest minimum, incidences of acrimony arising from dissatisfied candidates and political parties. He had received the proposed legislation, which had sought to repeal and re-enact the 2010 Electoral Act, on January 31, 2022. He signed it barely a week to the expiration of the window he had for the signing in accordance with the Nigerian Constitution.
The President had previously rejected the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. In 2018, for instance, the 8th National Assembly passed the bill and presented it to him for his assent. Three times that year, the President refused to sign it citing different reasons. Some of the reasons were that the bill would usurp the powers of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to decide on electoral matters; and that it was too close to the 2019 elections and could create some uncertainty about the legislation to govern the electoral process.
Again, in a letter to the National Assembly late last year, the President cited direct primaries clause as his main reason for not signing the bill. In direct primaries, all political party members participate in the selection of candidates for election. In indirect primaries, parties make use of delegates made up of leaders and members of the executives at the ward, local government and state levels to elect their candidates. The President said direct primaries would not just be too expensive to execute but would also stretch the security agencies because of the expected large turnout of voters. He wanted political parties to be given the free hand to choose their mode of primaries.
His rejection of the bill last year had generated some furore in the country. Many Nigerians, especially the opposition, were apprehensive and thought the president had ulterior motives in rejecting the bill.
Following the President’s rejection of the bill, members of the National Assembly went back to the drawing board. They had the option to override the President by invoking Section 58(5) of the Constitution and pass the bill into law or amend the clause the President complained about and resend it for his assent. They took the latter option by amending the contentious clause. Both chambers of the National Assembly passed the harmonised version of the new bill which included direct, indirect and consensus primary modes on January 25, 2022. They brought the bill back to the President for his assent. Luckily, the President signed it to the delight of many Nigerians.
Before signing the bill, the President gave a caveat to lawmakers to amend Section 84(12) of the Act. This section stipulates that “no political appointee at any level shall be voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
To the President, this clause constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at conventions or congresses of any political party. He added that it “introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that ultra vires the Constitution by way of importing blanket restriction and disqualification to serving political office holders of which they are constitutionally accorded protection.”
We urge the National Assembly to thoroughly examine the section the President complained about and amend it accordingly. No doubt, Electoral Act provides the framework upon which election is held. One major clause in the new Act is the electronic transmission of election result. It is hoped that it will substantially check rigging of elections in Nigeria.
The new Act also provides extension of timelines for key electoral activities. It encourages early party primaries and ensures there is no delay in printing of ballot papers. From the previous 60 days meant for parties to submit names of candidates, the time frame is now 180 days. Also, time frame for campaigns by political parties has shifted from 90 days to 150 days before election. The campaigns will end 24 hours before the election. The Act also stipulates that the total number of accredited voters will now be the basis for validity of votes. This means there won’t be any room for over-voting.
The implication for next year’s election would have been profound if the President had not signed the Electoral law. A leader should be able to rise above partisan politics in the interest of his country. We commend the President for signing the bill. We also commend members of the National Assembly for being steadfast.
Now that the electoral umpire has fixed the election timetable, it behoves on voters to exercise their civic responsibility dispassionately. Politicians should also make the system work. Everybody should play his own role. It gives confidence that the improvement in the Electoral Act will make for a more credible election.
President Buhari had promised to bequeath a legacy of free and fair elections to Nigeria. With the signing of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law, he has made the first major step towards fulfilling that promise.
