N’Assembly to consider Electoral Bill reports today, restores e-transmission of election results

The reports of the Committees on the Independent National Electoral Commission on the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill are expected to be considered today (Thursday) by both chambers of the National Assembly.

The reports were separately presented at the Senate and House of Representatives’ floors on Wednesday during plenary sessions.

There are however indications that the clause seeking to prevent INEC from transmitting election results through electronic means has been removed from the amendment bill.

A clause by clause vote on the recommendations will take place today.
Section 49 (1,2,3) of the bill provides that “voting at an election under this Bill shall be by open secret ballot. (2) Voting at an election and transmission of result under this Bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the Commission. (3) A voter on receiving a ballot paper shall mark it in the manner prescribed by the Commission”.
This is a middle of the road position in the midst of a heated debate on electronic transmission of results as proposed by INEC.
Other highlights of the bill are criminalising submission of name of an unqualified candidate to INEC by a political party; publication of date of election at least one year before by INEC; how a candidate can withdraw from election; fixing of campaign fund expenses for candidates; and punishment for a candidate who willfully flouts election law.
Also Section 28 (7) of the bill states that “a candidate for an election shall, at the time of submitting the prescribed form, furnish the Commission with an identifiable address in the State where he or she intends to contest the election at which address all documents and court processes from either the Commission or any other person shall be served on him or her”.
Subsection (8) states that “A political party which presents to the Commission the name of a candidate who does not meet the qualification stipulated in this section, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N10,000,000.00”
The document recommended 90-day notice to the INEC for any candidate wishing to withdraw from any election, while saying that notice of election shall be published one year to the date of election.

In Section 32, the report recommends that “a political party shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted pursuant to section 29 of this Bill, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate, provided that in the case of such withdrawal or death of a candidate, the political party affected shall, within 14 days of the occurrence of the event, hold a fresh primary election to produce and submit a fresh candidate to the Commission for the election concerned.”
The bill fixes a maximum of N5 billion as election expenses for a Presidential candidate and N1 billion maximum for governorship election, while the election expenses for the Senate and the House of Representatives were fixed at a maximum of N100 million and N70 million.
For state assembly election and chairmanship election, the maximum amount of expenses to be incurred by a candidate was fixed at N30 million each and N5 million for Councillorship election
It states further that in section 87 sub section 9 that “a candidate who knowingly acts in contravention of this section, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of one per cent of the amount permitted as the limit of campaign expenditure under this Bill or imprisonment for a term not more than 12 months or both”.
Subsection 10 states that “any individual who knowingly acts in contravention of subsection (9) is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of N500,000.00 or imprisonment for a term of nine months or both.
Subsection 11 states that “an Accountant who falsifies, or conspires or aids a candidate to forge or falsify a document relating to his expenditure at an election or receipt or donation for the election or in any way aids and abets the contravention of the provisions of this section commits an offence and Limitation on election expenses is liable on conviction to a fine of N3 million or imprisonment for a term of three years or both.”

Meanwhile, Senate President Ahmad Lawan says the Senate has not introduced extraneous clauses into the Electoral Act (amendment) Bill as being insinuated.
Lawan spoke following the laying of the report on the Bill by the Chairman, Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Kabiru Gaya (Kano South), at plenary.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, and Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, assured Nigerians that the bill would be passed by the House before its summer break.
Chairman of the House committee on Electoral Matters, Aisha Dukku, at the plenary prayed the House to receive the report on a bill for an act to repeal the Electoral Act No. 6, 2010, and enact the Electoral Act 2021, to regulate the conduct of federal, state and area councils in the Federal Capital Territory elections; and for related matters.

Key among the clauses allegedly surreptitiously introduced into the bill was the ban on electronic transmission of election results by INEC.
But Lawan lamented that following the publication of his phone number and that of the Speaker, Gbajabimila, on social media, he received over 900 short messages (SMS) on his phone in one day.

The Senate President insisted that those who had accused the Senate of inserting clauses into the bill either spoke out of ignorance or were simply mischievous and rabble-rousers.
Lawan said: “There are various accusations, insinuations that the leadership of the Senate or leadership of the National Assembly has tempered with the report of the committee on INEC of both chambers.
“Some of those accusing the leadership of the National Assembly are misinformed and innocent. Some are simply mischievous and rabble-rousers.
“This is the first time this report is laid here and this is the report of the committee. This is the decision of the committee on INEC and therefore whatever will be discussed or considered about the bill, will be on the basis of what has been presented to the Senate here.
“If anybody feels very strongly about anything, lobby the distinguished senators to canvass for your positions, rather than blackmail our leadership.
“Because my phone numbers and that of the Speaker were published and in one day, I received over 900 text messages saying we have manipulated this. We didn’t.
“We will do what is right. We have our procedures. And lobbying is part of democracy.”