the importance of Amending THE 2010 ELECTORAL ACT in Nigeria
By Adaje, Obiabo Sunday
On Tuesday 9th November, 2021, in line with extant legislative practice and procedure, the conference committee constituted by the presiding officers of both chambers of the National Assembly harmonized the 2010 Electoral Act ( Amendment ) Bill 2021, and expected to be transmitted to the President within seven days for assent. The committee considered and adopted (harmonized) twenty-one (21) clauses in the bill.
Background
This is not the first time Nigeria is amending its Electoral Act. The Electoral Act has hitherto been amended in 2004, 2006 and 2010 by the National Assembly (parliament) as the nation seeks to strengthen and improve conduct of elections which is the backbone of any democracy. However, in a letter addressed to Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Honourable Yakubu Dogara, on December 6, 2018, President Buhari said “pursuant to Section 58(4) of the Constitution of the Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), I hereby convey to the House of Representatives, my decision to decline Presidential Assent to the Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2018 recently passed by the National Assembly”. Mr. President said he was withholding his assent because he is “concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general elections which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process. Any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election may provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process”.
What is 2010 Electoral Act?
The 2010 Electoral Act is a constitutional law that guides how Nigeria conducts its elections. The Electoral Act also guides how the electoral umpire (The Independent National Electoral Commission –INEC) handles its operations and how members of staff of INEC go about the business of conducting elections for States and the federal government.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has conducted three general elections, using the Electoral Act 2010. These are the 2011, 2015 and 2019 general elections. While the Act was amended in 2015, it was not signed into law by the President Goodluck Jonathan – President Buhari predecessor. There was another attempt to amend the 2010 Electoral Act in 2018, but President Muhammadu Buhari on four different occasions refused to assent to the Bills. INEC then had no choice, but to fall back on the 2010 Electoral Act for the conduct of the 2019 General Election.
What is 2010 Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021?
The 2010 Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021 is a piece of legislation (bill) for all intents and purposes seeks to amend the election laws of Nigeria, otherwise called Electoral Act to help minimize disputes over electoral fraud and rigging of results and thereby obviate the need for long-drawn litigation that has hampered democratic choice, as well as enhance integrity and transparency of elections.
Given the several unsuccessful attempt to amend the Electoral Act 2010, the 9th National Assembly in 2019, inaugurated a joint Committee on electoral reform made up of Senate Committee on INEC headed by Senator Kabir Gaya, and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, headed by Hon. Aisha Dukku. There was also a technical Committee made up of the NASS Committee on Electoral Reform, representative of INEC and representative of Office of Attorney-General, while the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre provided technical support to the Committee. It is worth mentioning that the 9th National Assembly promised three times on when they would pass the electoral amendment Bill, and thrice they failed. However, the Bill was passed on Thursday, July 15 in the Senate with a lot of controversy and uproars from the general public, while the House of Representatives passed their own version on Friday, July 16, 2021 with little objection.
The contentious Clause of the 2010 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021
Many Nigerians, especially electoral stakeholders and fellow citizen felt let down given the proviso inserted in Section 52(2) of the Bill passed by the Senate, which says that INEC must get clearance from the Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), which must also be approved by the National Assembly for electronic transmission of election results. Many civil society and non-governmental organizations and electoral stakeholders called it a landmine and booby-trap, while legal practitioners termed it unconstitutional, ultra vires, null and void.
Another contentious clause bothered on direct primary for political parties; clause 87 which allowed for either direct or indirect primaries. Clause 87 has to do with nomination of candidates by parties. It now reads, “Clause 87. (1) “A political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this Bill shall hold direct primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which shall be monitored by the Commission.” Many governors are against this amendment
The Senate bows to pressure, says INEC can transmit elections electronically
It will be unwise for the Senate not to correct itself. Thus, after the Senate passed the amended version which says “INEC can transmit election results electronically subject to confirmation of the NCC based on adequacy and security of National Network. As a result, the Senate has been in the eye of the storm which made it to reversed herself; Clause 52: Sub section (2) now reads, “Subject to section 63 of this Bill, voting at an election and transmission of results under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission, (INEC) which may include electronic voting.”
Conclusion
On Tuesday 16 November, 2021 will make it seven days allowed by law for transmission of the 2010 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2021 to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent. The President should go ahead and sign the Bill into Law immediately. In doing so, he will give credence to his commitment to give Nigeria the gift of a better electoral umpire (INEC) than the one he met.
As Arch Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Catholic Archbishop of Sokoto Diocese succinctly captured in his article “The stock market of fake electoral currencies is now closed. We cannot blame anyone now for our misfortunes if we vote wrongly. The days of whether-you-voted-for-us-we-must-win will end. Yesterday was for the thief, today is the day for the owner of the vote”. For the reason that, many Nigerian are of the opinion deployment of appropriate technology with electronic transmission of results hold the key to solving the traditional opaque and obtuse collation process that have undermined credibility and sanctity of elections.
The electronic components of the bill will demystify Nigeria’s electoral processes; the clarity of the process will naturally empower citizens that their vote has power and encourage them to go out and vote, and citizens will now take full responsibility for their votes and how they cast them.
Meanwhile, at his meeting with members of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) in December 2019, Professor Yakubu, INEC chairma argued that the use of technology in results collation and transmission was “long overdue, doable, achievable and inevitable.” That position has repeatedly been reaffirmed by INEC’s National Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye, including during his interaction with National Assembly members. “We have uploaded results from very remote areas, even from areas where you have to use human carriers to access,” he said. “So, we have made our own position clear, that we have the capacity, and we have the will to deepen the use of technology in the electoral process.”
Adaje, Obiabo Sunday
Email: sunnydaje@yahoo.com
Twitter: @AdajeObiaboSund
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