A coalition of some civil society organizations has asked the National Assembly to veto the president on the Electoral Law Amendment Bill or remove the direct primaries clause from the bill.
The coalition stated this in a statement Tuesday in Abuja.
The organizations that signed the joint statement are Premium Times Center for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ), YIAGA Africa, International Press Center (IPC), Center for Citizens with Disability (CCD), Albino Foundation, CLEEN Foundation, Institute for Media and Society (IMS ). ) and the Nigerian Women’s Trust Fund (NWTF).
On Tuesday, President Muhammadu Buhari had conveyed in a letter to both houses of the National Assembly his reasons for refusing to pass the bill.
He cited security, financial and legal restrictions as a result of the mandatory direct primaries clause in the bill to decline consent, which was transmitted to him on November 19 after both houses passed the bill.
CSOs demanded swift action by legislators to save off-season elections, such as the Abuja Area Council elections, the Ekiti and Osun state governor elections, all of which will be conducted by INEC on next year.
CSOs said lawmakers have two options, activate Section 58 (5) of the 1999 Constitution, which gives lawmakers the power to override the president’s decision, “or remove contentious clauses from the bill and transmit the bill. of law to the President to obtain his consent within the next 30 days. “
They added that the “National Assembly must ensure that all clerical, editorial and cross-reference gaps in the current bill are resolved before transferring it back to the president.”
On the president’s delay before acting on the amendment bill, CSOs described the action as “disappointing” noting that “relevant electoral stakeholders have spent a lot of time and resources developing the bill.”
“More disappointing is the fact that the president delayed his response until the time required to pass the legislation until the date that the National Assembly is preparing for the Christmas and New Year holidays,” the statement said.
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The coalition said the rejection would not give INEC the necessary opportunity to test the new provisions of the bill before the 2023 general elections.
“The successful conduct of any election is based on the certainty and clarity of the electoral legal framework, among other factors. This is to avoid any uncertainty that may cause manipulation and subversion of the electoral process, ”said the CSOs.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives suspended the session for the Christmas and New Year holidays after passing the 2022 budget, so the bill will have to wait until 2022 before action is taken on it.
The lower house is expected to meet again on January 18, although the president, Femi Gbajabiamila, said she would be willing to meet “whenever the need arises.”