The recent statement credited to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that it would not release the 2023 election timetable until the Electoral Act Amendment Bill is signed into law has further underscored the need for the National Assembly to expedite action in reworking the bill in such a way that the president would readily assent to it.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who made the disclosure in Abuja during the Commission’s first quarterly consultative meeting with political parties, had argued that the early passage of the bill is crucial to preparations for the 2023 election. According to him, “as soon as it is signed into law, the Commission will quickly release the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election based on the new law.”
President Muhammadu Buhari had, in a letter to the National Assembly in December last year, withheld assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill due to controversies surrounding the mode of primaries by political parties and other technical errors. He explained that his decision was based on informed advice by relevant ministries, departments and agencies of the government, and a careful review of the Bill, in the light of the current realities prevalent in the country. He specifically observed that the provision of direct primaries in the electoral bill violates the spirit of democracy.
According the president, “the amendment as proposed is a violation of the underlying spirit of democracy, which is characterised by freedom of choices of which political party membership is a voluntary exercise of the constitutional right of freedom of association.”
Therefore, the imperative of having the electoral bill passed into law and signed by the president cannot be overemphasised. Many stakeholders are of the belief that without the electoral framework in place, the 2023 election might not be free, fair and credible. Considering the urgency of the electoral bill, the National Assembly members should harmonise their stands on the issue and ensure that the electoral act is ready before the polls. Since the electoral act would ensure the credibility of the 2023 polls, we must do everything possible to get it passed and signed into law.
Apart from the mode of selecting candidates by political parties for elections, the bill has other salutary provisions, including electronic transmission of results which Nigerians believe would go a long way in checking rigging and other electoral frauds.
The next general election is barely a year ahead. Time is therefore of essence in resolving all the grey areas in the bill. There is no luxury of time for the legislators and the president in tidying up the contentious aspects of the bill.
Nigerians did not have the opportunity of having the amended electoral act before the 2019 polls because the president had argued that the time the bill was presented to him was too close to the elections. We hope that such a scenario will not be repeated this time around.
It is good that both the Senate and House of Representatives have eventually rescinded their decision that political parties must use the direct primary in nominating candidates for elections. Apart from approving direct and indirect primaries, the Senate included the consensus mode of primary as suggested by the President in a recent television interview. However, the House of Representatives approved the direct and indirect primaries but rejected the consensus option inserted by the Senate. To avoid a stalemate, it is important that the Senate and the House of Representatives should quickly harmonise their differing stands and on the electoral bill and pass it to the president for his assent.
Nigerians expect that the electoral bill would be signed into law soon. Let all the contentious areas highlighted by the president be addressed to avoid further delay in signing the bill into law.
The NASS must ensure that only one version of the electoral bill is finally sent to the president for his assent. Due diligence is of utmost importance in this regard.
There should be no room for error in the electoral bill this time round.