Elections should be decided at polls, not in courts –Abbas

From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, has said that elections should be decided at the polling units and not in courtrooms.

Abbas, who stated this, yesterday, while addressing members at the last plenary for the year noted that rising cases of electoral contests being decided by the courts is undermining public confidence in the electoral process.

The Speaker, while expressing concern that the trend, if not quickly checked, could erode the legitimacy of political leaders, added that the House recognized the importance of electoral reforms in strengthening the nation’s democratic institutions.

According to him, the National Assembly has held a citizens town hall engagement to collate the views of the citizens on the impending amendment of the Electoral Act.

He said: “Consequently, we took the initiative to take the lead in soliciting citizens’ input on the Electoral Act 2022 and recommendations on strengthening it, to deliver free and fair elections and reduce the judiciary’s influence on the electoral process.

“The outcomes of elections should be decided at the Polling Unit and not in a court room. The over-judicialisation of electoral outcomes has greatly undermined public confidence and could erode the legitimacy of political leadership if not quickly and adequately addressed.

“The citizens’ town hall on electoral reforms made far-reaching recommendations that would be considered in amending the Electoral Act.”

Furthermore, Abbas stated that since the inauguration of the House on June 13, it has been working assiduously to involve the citizen in decision-making processes.  He added that in the past six months the Green Chamber had recorded achievements in different sectors.

His words: “Our legislative outputs in the last six months are remarkable. The House received and considered 962 bills, 500 motions, and 153 petitions. Of these numbers, 120 bills have passed the second reading stage.

“They are currently undergoing further review and refinement to address some of the concerns raised during the debates. Another 122 bills have been referred to committees for in-depth analysis. We have also successfully passed many other bills, which have been transmitted to the Senate for concurrence.”