President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday he highlighted some reservations when he signed the rewritten electoral bill into law.
The president signed the bill around noon on Friday in the presence of Senate President Ahmad Lawan, the vice president; Yemi Osinlow; The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and other senior officials.
He praised the National Assembly for rewriting the legislation, which he said comes with a great improvement over the previous Electoral Bill.
The bill, he said, contains salient and praiseworthy provisions that could positively revolutionize elections in Nigeria through the introduction of new technological innovations as well as improve the efficiency and transparency of the electoral process.
complaints
The president, however, complained about one section of the bill: clause 84 (12).
The Clause states: “No political appointee at any level may be a voting delegate or be voted on at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of nominating candidates for any election.”
The President said that the provision in this Clause is in conflict with existing constitutional provisions.
It constitutes a disqualification of the holders of political positions in office to vote or be voted in conventions or congresses of any political party, with the purpose of nominating candidates for any election in the cases in which it is held before 30 days of the national election. .
“This provision has introduced qualification and disqualification criteria that go beyond the Constitution through the importation of general restrictions and disqualifications for the holders of political positions in service of those who are constitutionally granted protection.
“The practical application of section 84 (12) of the Electoral Bill of 2022, if approved, by operation of law, will subject political office holders in service to the inhibitions and restrictions referred to in sections 40 and 42 of the 1999 Constitution.
“It is imperative to note that the only constitutional expectation placed on political office holders who qualify, by extension, as public officials within the context of the constitution is resignation, withdrawal, or retirement at least 30 days before the date of the election” , said. He said.
The president also explained that things will be extended beyond the constitutional limit to import foreign restrictions to the constitution due to the practical application of Section 84 (12) of the bill where the conventions and congresses of the political parties had to be held before 30 days to election.
“…(but) with particular regard to the benefits of the bill, the industry, the time, resources and energy committed in its passage, I hereby consent to the bill and request the National Assembly to consider immediate amendments that bring the bill into line with constitutionality by deleting section 84(12) accordingly.”
The president’s demand is one of many that he has asked the National Assembly in relation to the Electoral Law Project.
Between 2018 and December 2021, he rejected the bill five times citing different reasons ranging from the cost of the election, insecurity, drafting errors, to the proximity of the election date.
The most recent amendment he sought was for lawmakers to allow political parties to have different primary election mode options to elect candidates for political office.
He asked lawmakers to include direct, indirect and consensus candidates, against the initial approved version that contained only direct primaries.
Since then, lawmakers have addressed the issue by making provisions for different primary options.
It also provides for the use of electronic voting and the electronic transmission of results.
Many individuals and civic groups who have called for electoral reforms have said that the law will facilitate electoral processes and promote fairness and credibility in future elections.