Senate Steps Down Consideration Of New Electoral Act

The Senate, connected Thursday, stood down further information of a Bill for an Act to repeal the Electoral Act No 13,2 022 and enact the Electoral Act, 2025.

This followed the adoption of a question moved by Majority Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) and seconded by Minority Leader, Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue) astatine plenary connected Thursday.

Senator Bamidele said helium believed the clip was not auspicious for the Senate to spell into enforcement league to sermon the Bill.

He further said it was his condemnation that determination was the request for further consultation connected the Bill earlier proceeding further.

According to him, determination was a request for lawmakers to afloat recognize the wide principles and details of the Bill, hence the
postponement of further information of the Bill to different legislative day.

Earlier, earlier the Bill was stood down, chairman, Senate Committee connected INEC, Senator Simon Lalong (APC, Plateau), presented the wide principles of the Bill, saying the projected authorities was not a specified amendment, but a broad betterment by repealing the main Act and enacting different law.

He said the measure was intended to supply Nigeria with a strong, much credible and much inclusive electoral framework.

Lalong said though the AEectoral Act 2022 delivered immoderate landmark results, provided landmark innovations, it besides exposed heavy flaws successful the nation’s electoral system.

This, helium said, revolved astir captious gaps, delays successful the merchandise of predetermination funds, disputes implicit elector register, conflicting interpretations of effect transmission and wide litigation from enactment primaries, anemic punishment of electoral offenses.

He said Nigerians expected the Senate to respond not with specified corrections but with a holistic instrumentality that restores religion successful the nation’s elections going forward.

Lalong said the cardinal objectives of the projected authorities were to bring astir betterment successful the electoral process by ensuring transparency, efficiency, and integrity of the electoral system.

He besides said the nonsubjective was to guarantee that determination is escaped and just contention wherever each governmental parties are fixed adjacent rights and to guarantee that the outcomes of elections bespeak the volition of the radical and trim electoral malpractices by mounting stricter punitive measures.

This, helium said, the punitive measures would service arsenic deterrence to electoral malpractices and yet heighten voters’ assurance and participation in elections.