BusinessDay 18 Feb 2018

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10 BD SUNDAY C002D5556 Sunday 18 February 2018 Politics 2019: Major highlights of Electoral Act passed by National Assembly OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja popular candidates rode on the popularity of other candidates to emerge victorious in their elections. They argued that the amendment would guarantee free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria. According to them, this is not the first time where presidential elections would be held last in the country. They cited the 1992, 1999, 2003 and 2011 general elections to buttress their argument. But the 10 APC senators insisted that the Bill was targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari, describing the re-ordering of election as unconstitutional. It would be recalled that the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, was passed by the Senate on 30th March 2017 and in the House of Representatives on 1st February, 2018. However, some differences were noticed in the two versions of the Bill as passed by both chambers. Consequently, conference committee was constituted in both legislative bodies on 24th January, 2018 to reconcile areas of differences that appeared in the two versions. The new Electoral Act will now be transmitted to the President for assent, with strong indications that the President would veto the Bill, even as the National Assembly is squaring up to override the president’s veto. But besides the elections sequence, the new bill also provides for a timeline for submission of list of candidates, guidelines for political parties’ primaries, use of technological devices, limit of campaign expenses, addresses the omission of names of candidates The new bill also provides for a timeline for submission of list of candidates, guidelines for political parties’ primaries, use of technological devices, limit of campaign expenses, addresses the omission of names of candidates or logos of political parties, among others Buhari or logos of political parties, among others. The major highlights of the Bill include: 1. A person, who being a member of a political party, misrepresents himself by not disclosing his membership, affiliation, or connection to any political party in order to secure an appointment with the Independent National Electoral Commission in any capacity, commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for at least five (5) years or a fine of at least N5,000,000 or both. 2. If the Electoral Officer or any other officer is satisfied as to the circumstances of the With less than one year to the 2019 general election, the two chambers of the National Assembly last week adopted the conference committee report on the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, which would be used to conduct the exercise. While the proposal sailed through in the House of Representatives without uproar, consideration of the document in the Senate was marred by controversy and protests as 10 All Progressives Congress (APC) senators staged a walk out after the adoption of the recommendation of the conference committee. The 10 APC senators include are Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa State), Ovie Omo-Agege (Delta), Umar Kurfi (Katsina), Andrew Uchendu (Rivers), Benjamin Uwajumogu (Imo), Abdullahi Yahaya (Kebbi), Abu Ibrahim (Katsina), Abdullahi Gumel (Jigawa), Ali Wakil (Bauchi) and Binta Masi Garba (Adamawa). The bone of contention is the approval of a new sequence of election in which Presidential Election is to be held last while National Assembly Election comes first. In between the two elections are the governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls. If signed into law by the President, this will be the first time since 1999 that general elections would be conducted in three phases, as the last five general elections in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 were concluded in two segments. The new sequence by the apex legislative chamber is a sharp contrast from the timetable and schedule of activities earlier released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which fixed the Presidential and National Assembly elections for February 16, 2019 as well as the governorship and House of Assembly poll for March 2, 2019. Proponents of the re-ordering of the elections believe this would prevent the bandwagon effect associated with the presidential elections holding first and prevent a repeat of the 2015 exercise where unloss, destruction, defacement or damage of the Voters’ card, he shall issue to the voter a Replacement Permanent Voter Card. (3) No person shall issue a replacement to any Voter on polling day or less than thirty (30) days before polling day. 4. Upon displaying or publishing the voters register in accordance with this section, the Commission shall accept and consider objections and complaints in relation to the names omitted or included in the voters’ register or in relation to any necessary correction, within 14 days of publishing the voters register in accordance with this section. 5. Failure to display or publish the voters’ register shall constitute an offence for which any official or staff of the Commission responsible for such default shall be guilty and liable, on conviction, to imprisonment for a term of 6 months or a fine of N100,000 or both. 6. Elections into the offices of the President and Vice President, the Governor and Deputy Governor of a State, and to the membership of the Senate, the House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly of each State of the Federation shall be held in the following order: a). National Assembly Elections; (b). State Houses of Assembly and Governorship Elections;
Sunday 18 February 2018 C002D5556 BD SUNDAY 11 Politics c). Presidential Election. The dates for these elections shall be as appointed by the Independent National Electoral Commission. 7. Election into the offices of the Chairman and Vice Chairman and membership of the Area Councils of the FCT shall be held on the dates to be appointed by the Independent National; Electoral Commission. 8. The commission shall not later than 150 days before the day appointed for holding election under the Act publish a notice in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory. (a)Stating the date of the election and (b)Appointing the place at which nomination papers are to be delivered; 9. If the Court determines that any of the information contained in the Affidavit is false, the Court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate/political party from contesting the election, if already elected, shall not be eligible to re-contest another election which shall be conducted within ninety (90) days by the Independent National Electoral Commission. 10. Any political party that presents to the Commission the name of a Candidate that does not meet the qualification stipulated in the Constitution commits an offence and shall, on conviction, not be allowed to participate in the contest to that particular office. 11). A political party which presents to the commission the name of a candidate who does not meet the qualification stipulated in this section shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction shall be liable to a Dogara Saraki maximum time of N1,000,000. 12). Agents of political parties are now entitled to inspect originals of electoral materials before commencement of election and any Presiding Officer who violates this provision of the law shall be imprisoned for one year or a fine of N1 million or both. 13). The proposal mandates the Commission to compile, maintain and update a National Electronic Register of Election Results as a distinct database of polling unit by polling unit results for all elections conducted by INEC. 14). The Commission shall, at least thirty days before the day of the election publish by displaying or causing to be displayed at the relevant office(s) of the Commission and on the Commission’s website, a statement of the full names and addresses of all candidates standing nominated. 15). Any candidate who observes his name or that of his party missing on the list published by the Commission, shall notify the Commission in writing, signed by himself and supported with an affidavit not later than 21 days to the election. 16). Where the candidate fails to notify the Commission, the candidate shall be deemed to have waived his right. 17). If after the commencement of poll and before the announcement of the final result and declaration of a winner, a nominated candidate dies: a). the Commission shall, being satisfied of the fact of the death, suspend the election for a period not exceeding 21 days; b). the political party whose candidate died may, if it Intends to continue to participate in the election, conduct a fresh primary within 14 days of the death of its candidate and submit a new candidate to the Commission to replace the deceased, and c). subject to paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection, the Commission shall continue with the election, announce the final result and declare a winner. 18). There shall be full biometric accreditation of voters Yakubu with Smart Card Readers and/ or other technological devices, as INEC may introduce for elections from time to time. 19). The Commission shall adopt electronic voting in all elections or any other method of voting as may be determined by the electoral body from time to time. 20). Parties can no longer impose arbitrary nomination fees on political aspirants, as the Bill prescribes limits for each elective office as follows: (a) One Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N150,000) for a Ward Councillorship aspirant in the FCT; (b) Two Hundred and Fifty Thousand Naira (N250,000) for an Area Council Chairmanship aspirant in the FCT; (c) Five Hundred Thousand Naira (N500,000) for a House of Assembly aspirant; (d) One Million Naira (N1,000,000) for a House of Representatives aspirant; (e) Two Million Naira (N2,000,000) for a Senatorial aspirant; (f) Five Million naira (N5,000,000) for a Governorship aspirant; and (g) Ten Million Naira (N10,000,000) for a Presidential aspirant; 21). The proposal also prescribes the maximum election expenses to be incurred by each candidate. They include: Presidential candidate N5billion, governorship candidate N1billion, senatorial and House of Representatives seat N100million and N70 million respectively, State House of Assembly N30 million, chairmanship and councillorship of Area Council N30 million and N5 million respectively. 22). It also increases the amount an individual or entity can donate to any candidate from N1 million to N10 million; 23). Where the votes cast at an election in any polling unit exceed the number of accredited voters in that polling unit, the result of the election for that polling unit shall be declared null and void by the Commission and another election may be conducted at a date to be fixed by the Commission where the result at that polling unit affect the overall result in the Constituency.
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BusinessDay 18 Feb 2018

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