Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has said he refused to sign the amended Electoral Bill because signing such at a short period to the election can cause disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.
The letter was read on the floor of the Senate by the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.
Buhari, in a letter to the Senate on while he declined assent to the bill, said he was concerned that passing a new electoral bill this far into the electoral process for the 2019 general elections, which commenced under the 2015 Electoral Act, could create some uncertainty about the applicable legislation to govern the process.
According to Buhari, any real or apparent change to the rules this close to the election might provide an opportunity for disruption and confusion in respect of which law governs the electoral process.
“This leads me to believe that it is in the best interest of the country and our democracy for the National Assembly to specifically state in the Bill that the Electoral Act will come into effect and be applicable to elections commencing after the 2019 General Elections.
“It is also important for the following drafting amendments to be made to the Bill: A. Section 5 of the Bill, amending section 18 of the Principal Act should indicate the subsection to which the substitution of the figure ’30” for the figure “60” is to be effected.
“B. Section 11 of the Bill, amending Section 36 should indicate the subsection in which the provision is to be introduced.
“C. Section 24 of the Bill which amends Section 85(1) should be redrafted in full as the introduction of the “electing” to the sentence may be interpreted to mean that the political parties may give 21 days’ notice of the .. intention to merge, as opposed to the 90 days provided in Section 84(2) of the Electoral Act which provides the provision for merger of political parties.
“D. The definition of the term “Ward Collection Officer” should be revised to reflect a more descriptive definition than the capitalized and undefined term “Registration Area Collation Officer,” he said.
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