- Safiu Kehinde
The electoral act amendment bill has on Wednesday scaled through the Senate’s second reading.
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, announced the passing of the bill which was presented before the members of the red chamber during the plenary session for the second reading.
Akpabio would proceed to refer the bill, which seeks to revoke and re-enact the 2022 Electoral Act, to the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters for further deliberation and a public hearing, giving the committee two weeks to report back to the chamber.
The bill, sponsored by the Electoral Matters Committee Chairman, Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau South), was initially presented for second reading last Thursday.
It was stepped down to allow for wider consultation.
While lauding the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022, Lalong, during his presentation of the bill, however cited the act’s shortfalls
These included delays in the release of election funds, disputes over voter registers, conflicting interpretations of result transmission, and weak enforcement of electoral offences.
With the bill on Wednesday thrown for debate amongst lawmakers, Sen. Adamu Aliero (APC, Kebbi North) called for the inclusion of clear provisions on the electronic transmission of results.
He urged his colleagues to strengthen the use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) to ensure transparency in elections.
On his part, Sen. Orji Kalu (APC, Abia North) admonished all lawmakers, including those in the opposition, to work together towards building a transparent electoral process.
Tahir Munguno (APC, Borno North) harped on the need for transparent party primaries, reduced election spending, and stronger measures against vote-buying while Agom Jarigbe (PDP, Cross River North) supported provisions for electronic result transmission and independent candidacy.
Olalere Oyewunmi (PDP, Osun West), on the other hand, called for stiffer penalties for electoral offenders, including INEC and security officials who compromise elections.
Meanwhile, Edo state lawmaker, Adams Oshiomhole accused politicians of arming thugs to cause mayhem during elections and urged his colleagues to desist from such practices.
In reaction, Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West) suggested that the amendment should empower INEC to determine the true winner of elections and check the excesses of political parties.