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By Myke Agunwa
As the National Assembly puts in place machineries which will guarantee credible and all inclusivity in the forth coming general election, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is seeking an amendment of the Electoral Act (2022) to accommodate early voting for security personnel, healthcare workers and all those whose duty will prevent them from exercising their franchise on an election day.
INEC further requested powers to appoint and discipline heads of state and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) offices, just as it sought a legal framework to establish the Electoral Offences Commission and Political Party Regulatory Agency.
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a retreat with the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Electoral Matters, held in Lagos on Monday said that such retreat had yielded fruitful results, among which is improvement on logistics and halt in the printing of ballot papers outside the country.
In a 10-page document titled: “Issues and Contentions in the Electoral Legal Framework, An Overview from INEC’s Submission” submitted to the lawmakers, the electoral umpire pointed out some amendments that will be required to make the conduct of election and result declaration more credible, seamless and all-inclusive.
Some of the areas include: “Power of the Commission to Appoint Heads of State and FCT Offices as State Directors of Elections.
“Review the Legal Framework to establish (a) an Electoral Offences Commission and (b) Political Party Regulatory Agency.
“Make provisions to enable the introduction of early/ special voting to cater for eligible voters on essential services, election personnel as well as voters under incarceration, those in the Diaspora and out-of-country voting for eligible voting Nigerians outside the country during elections by introducing a new subsection 12 (2) as well as the amendment of Section 45.
“Provide for Stiffer Penalties for Political Parties that Fail to Submit Dates and Venues of Party Congresses and Primaries/those that Fail to Comply with the Rules and Guidelines of their Party Primaries.
“Review Section 47 (1) as well as 16 (1, 2 & 4) to Modify Requirements for the Use of PVCs to Allow for the Introduction of Electronically Downloadable Voters’ Card of Any Other Form of ID Acceptable to the Commission”
The INEC boss reminded the lawmakers that some of the amendments made to the electoral act in 2022 led to the seamless conduct of two elections without postponement due to logistics challenges.
“As we are aware, a perennial problem in the conduct of elections in Nigeria has been the postponement of the dates fixed for general elections on two occasions since 2011 as a result of logistics challenges associated with the production and delivery of sensitive materials (ballot papers and result sheets). The present Commission was determined to change the embarrassing narrative.
“The solution was to amend the Electoral Act to provide for more time between party primaries and the nomination of candidates on the one hand and the dates fixed for the election on the other. The Commission initially asked for one year, which was not favourably considered by the lawmakers who eventually settled for the current 180 days (six months).
“As a result of that decision, the Commission had ample time to plan and consequently, for the first time in three electoral cycles, the 2023 General Election was not postponed on account of logistics associated with the printing and delivery of sensitive materials.
“Equally significant is that for the first time since the restoration of democracy in 1999, not a single sheet of paper for the 2023 General Election was printed outside Nigeria. Everything was done within the country for which the Commission was commended by the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria (CIPPON)” he said.
The retreat was put together by members of the Civil Society including Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), The European Union and others.