Three Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) advocating good leadership and governance in Nigeria have urged the President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the amended electoral act 2021 without delay.
It is no longer news that the National Assembly has communicated the amended electoral bill 2021 to the presidency on 19th November, 2021 for assent.
The three groups namely; Young Leaders Network (YLN), Leadtots Development Initiative and Women Development Association for Sustainable Development (WODASS) made the call in a statement signed by their executive directors Seun Justin Onarinde, Nicholas Afeso Oshojah and Sukumun Ezekiel issued to our correspondent on Wednesday.
According to the organizations, the amended bill is a great development opining that if implemented, it will strengthen democracy and guarantee the nation’s electoral integrity.
They particularly applauded some provisions in the bill including the legal backing for the use of electoral technologies for the purpose of voter accreditation and electronic transfer of election results; extension of restrictive timelines for electoral activities, concise definition of over voting and the conferment of legal authority on INEC to review questionable election results.
“The amended bill resolved that “voting at an election and transmission of results under this bill shall be in accordance with the procedure determined by the commission, which may include electronic voting”.
“The New amendment also changes the old clause which says that: “A political party seeking to nominate candidates for elections under this act shall hold direct or indirect primaries for aspirants to all elective positions, which may be monitored by the commission”.
“The new amendment now reads: “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. This upholds the direct primaries for aspirants in political parties”.
“We believe that the bill at its present state will increase citizens participation in the electoral process and promote the capacity of the institutions to promote transparency and lawfulness of the electoral processes and outcomes as well as promote democratic processes in the nation”. They asserted.
The CSOs pointed out that the quick assent to the electoral bill 2021 will help early preparations and effective conduct of the 2023 general election, which is 14 months away.