Bill To Amend Electoral Act 2022 Passes 2nd Reading

The House of Representatives has passed for second reading a bill seeking to amend the Electoral Act 2022 for seamless transmission of election results.

The proposed amendments which was sponsored by the Chairman, House Committee on Rules and Business, Francis Waive would provide for electronic transmission of election results to minimize fraud in the nation’s electoral process.

The proposed legislation also seeks to amend selected sections of the current Electoral Act to provide for re-registration of voters, same-day elections, and punishment for frivolous election petitions.

While leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Waive, who observed that there were gaps in the current Electoral Act 2022, noted that an amendment of the law became necessary to pave the way for electronic transmission of election results, which would help the nation’s democracy.

He also argued that “a review of the voter register every 10 years will be a good starting point”.

In his contribution, Aliyu Madaki warned that the House “should not punish a voter because he was not accredited.”

“a voter who comes out to vote and whose name is in the register should be allowed to vote”.

He however, maintained that where there is no accreditation, there should be no voting in such a polling unit.

Also speaking, Jesse Onuakalusi noted that it is imperative to conduct elections and transmit the results electronically, maintaining that elections should be held on the same day.

The lawmaker who cited the instance of Ghana, where “people vote and go back to their businesses” on the day scheduled for election, maintained that “there is no need to shut down the nation’s economy” during the conduct of elections.

After robust debate on the bill, it was referred to the House Committee on Electoral Matters for further legislative action.

Oduyemi Odumade