The Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, who chaired the Conference Committee in the Senate, presented the report on the harmonized version of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
In his presentation, he said the bill when passed by the National Assembly, and subsequently signed into law by the President, would regulate the conduct of Federal, State and Area Council elections in the Federal Capital Territory.
“It is imperative to point out that with the successful harmonization of this bill, a process that started from the 7th Assembly through to the 8th National Assembly has now been completed by the 9th National Assembly.
“The bill is now ready for passage and Presidential assent.
“I am happy to state that most of what we call “citizens top priorities” on the Electoral Act Amendment, including the use of technology have been addressed by the Electoral Bill, 2021”, the Senate Leader said.
The chamber on October 13, 2021, re-amended certain aspects of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill contained in Clauses 43, 52, 63 and 87, respectively.
The re-amendment to the clauses was duly carried out amid a motion for re-committal sponsored by Senator Yahaya Abdullahi.
Accordingly, while adopting the conference committee report on Tuesday, the Senate approved the re-amended clauses to provide for direct primaries for aspirants to all elective positions.
It also empowered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) under Clause 63 to determine the procedure for voting and transmission of results during an election.