Senate members in close-door meeting over returned Electoral Amendment Bill
Senate, Wednesday, dissolved into a closed-door session to deliberate on the letter sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari withholding his assent to the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment bill.
Soon after the Upper Chamber resumed plenary Wednesday, President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, called for an Executive session to discuss further the issue of overriding President Buhari’s veto on the Electoral Act Amendment bill.
It would be recalled that on Tuesday, President Buhari had written to the Senate and the House of Representatives, withholding assent to the 2021 Electoral Act Amendment bill which the joint chamber had passed.
As it is, both chambers of the legislature could veto the President’s powers of assent by passing the bill into law, if enough votes is garnered among the legislators.
In the letter, Buhari cited the imposition of direct primaries as approved by the National Assembly for picking candidates by political parties in the amended Electoral Act as a violation of the spirit of democracy.
According to the President, with direct primaries, there will be a plethora of litigation from party members and stakeholders, just as he said that allowing the process would fuel corruption as well as encourage over monetization. He also said that he was withholding assent to the bill because the direct primaries would cause a substantial financial burden on political parties, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the economy and security agencies, adding that the process is undemocratic.
The letter conveying Buhari’s position was addressed to both the President of the Senate, Lawan and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and read during the start of plenary on Tuesday.
In the letter dated December 13, 2021, the President further explained that his decision to withhold assent to the electoral bill was informed by advice from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government after a thorough review.
According to Buhari, signing the bill into law would have adverse legal, financial, economic and security consequences on the country, particularly given Nigeria’s peculiarities, adding further that it would also negatively impact citizens’ rights to government participation as constitutionally ensured.
The contentious Electoral Act has been embroiled in controversies which began with the issue of electronic transmission of election results, and later which agency of government could transmit the said results.
When all that was resolved, the Bill was eventually passed but with a late and unpopular inclusion of mandatory direct primaries for conduct of internal elections by political parties, which saw complaints by politicians and political parties from both the ruling and opposition raise concerns over its workability.
