The House of Representatives has proposed a single day for the conduct of the five elections in 2027.

If the proposal is upheld, the reviewed Electoral Act would empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to simultaneously conduct the presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives, governorship and House of Assembly polls in one day.

Other amendments being proposed by the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly include the payment of N50 million by political associations seeking registration as parties, restriction of presidential election expenses to N10 billion, conduct of elections 120 days before the expiration of the incumbent?s term and determination of election petitions within 90 days after the exercise.

The House also took steps to end series of by-elections arising from resignation and death of elected members of the state and National Assembly, proposing that parties who sponsored the lawmaker who died or resigned be made to produce his replacement.

The Electoral Bill 2025 titled: ?A bill for an Act to repeal the Electoral Act No 13, 2022 and to enact the Electoral Act 2025, to regulate the conduct of Federal, State and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory elections and for related matters? had passed through the Second Reading in the House.

The bill sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun (APC, Lagos), also seeks the payment of an administrative fee of N50 by political associations before the application is processed.

Although the 202acAct provides that such associations would be required to pay an administrative fee, the amount is left it to the discretion of INEC.

Also, the proposed amendment seeks to restrict governorship election expenses to N3 billion, representing an increase from N1 billion in the 2022 Electoral Act.

Senatatorial, House of Representatives, Houses of Assembly, Chairmanship and Councillorship election expenses are restricted to N500 million, N250 million, N30 million (for State Assembly and Chairman) and N10 million respectively.

According to the proposed review, ?no individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N500 million.?

Clause 27 of the proposed law states that elections at all levels shall be held not earlier than 210 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the tenure of office of the occupants of the office, adding that ?where a vacancy occurs in any of the Houses mentioned in sub-section (1) more than 90 days before the date of general elections, an election shall be held to fill such vacancy not later than 30 days after the occurrence of the vacancy.?

The 2022 Electoral Act makes it mandatory for INEC to declare a notice of election 360 days before the conduct of the election.

However, the proposed amendment states that ?without prejudice to subsections 1 and 3 above, apart from off- circle elections, all the elections shall hold the same day?.

It adds: ?Every political party shall, not later than 210 days before the date appointed for a general election under this Act, submit to the Commission, in the prescribed Forms, the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections, who must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the political party.

?The list or information submitted by each candidate shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidate at the Federal High Court, High Court of a State, or Federal Capital Territory, indicating that he or she has fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into that office.

?The Commission shall, within 21 days of the receipt of the personal particulars of the candidate, publish same in the constituency where the candidate intends to contest the election.

?A person may apply to the Commission for a copy of nomination form, affidavit and any other document submitted by a candidate at an election and the Commission shall, upon payment of a prescribed fee, issue such person with a certified true copy of the document within 14 days.

?A aspirant who participated in the primaries of his political party who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by the political party?s candidate in the affidavit or any document submitted by that candidate in relation to his constitutional requirements to contest the election is false, may file a suit at the Federal High Court in the jurisdiction where the course of action arose against that candidate seeking a Submission of list of candidates and their affidavits by political parties declaration that the information contained in the affidavit is false.

?Where the Court determines that any of the information contained in the affidavit is false only as it relates to constitutional requirements of eligibility, the Court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate and the sponsoring political party?.

The law makes it an offence for any one to present himself for election without meeting the stipulated qualification, adding that an Impostor risks a fine of N5 million and the party presenting an unqualified candidate will be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N10 million.

It also state that political parties shall not be allowed to change or substitute its candidate whose name has been submitted under Section 28 of this Act, except in the case of death or withdrawal by the candidate in accordance with Section 30, provided that in the case of such withdrawal or death of a candidate, the political party affected shall, within 14 days of the occurrence of the event, hold another primary election to produce and submit a new candidate to the Commission for the election concerned.

Clause 40 of the law states that ?where an elected member of a Legislative house at any level of government resigns, dies or is otherwise unable to continue in office before the expiration of the tenure for which the member was elected, the political party under whose platform the member was elected shall have the mandate to nominate a replacement from within the party in accordance with the procedure for nomination of candidates in section 84 (2).?

It also states that the nomination process for such replacement ?shall be made within sixty (60) days after the seat is declared vacant by the presiding officer due to resignation, death, or incapacity of the member? and ?the National Chairman of the political party shall submit the name of the nominated replacement to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for ratification and issuance of a Certificate of return?.

The commission is however, expected to issue a certificate of return to the candidate so nominated after ratification and the nominated member shall be deemed to have been duly elected and shall be sworn-in accordingly, without the need for a by-election.

The proposed amendment also set aside a date for security personnel; officials of the Commission; accredited domestic observers; accredited journalists; and ad-hoc staff of the Commission to cast their votes under a procedure to be determined by the Commission, adding that ?a person whose name is on the early voter?s list shall not vote on the official day scheduled for the respective election?.

The proposed law is silent on the use of Permanent Voters cards for accreditation during elections.

But it states that ?a person intending to vote in an election shall present himself to a Presiding Officer for accreditation at the polling unit in the constituency in which his name is registered, and shall provide any of ?(a) an electronically generated voter identification, including a downloadable voter? card with a unique QR code; or (b) any other form of identification as may be prescribed in section 10 (2).

Section 10(2) required the presentation of a Nigerian birth certificate, Nigerian Passport or National Identification Number for the purpose of participating in the continuous voter registration.

(2) To vote, the Presiding Officer shall use a Bimodal Voter Accreditation System or any other technological device that may be prescribed by the Commission, for the accreditation of voters, to verify, confirm or authenticate the particulars of the intending voter in the manner prescribed by the Commission.

Clause 60(5) provide for an electronic and manual transmission of election results saying ?the Presiding Officer shall transmit the results including total number of accredited voters to the next level of collation both electronically and manually?, while also saying in subsection 6 that ?a Presiding Officer who willfully contravenes any provision of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of not less than N 500,000 or imprisonment for a term of not less than six months or both?.

Clause 62 provides among others, that ?after the recording and announcement of the result, the Presiding Officer shall deliver same along with election materials under security and accompanied by the candidates or their polling agents, where available, to such person as may be prescribed by the Commission.

?A collation officer or returning officer at an election shall collate and announce the result of an election, subject to his or her verification and confirmation that that (a) number of accredited voters stated on the collated result are correct and consistent with the number of accredited voters recorded under section 47 (2) and transmitted directly from polling units under this Act; and (b) the votes stated on the collated result are correct and consistent with the votes or results recorded and transmitted directly from polling units under section 60 (4) of this Act.

?Subject to subsection (1), a collation officer or returning officer shall use the number of accredited voters recorded under section 47 (2) of this Act and transmitted directly from polling units under section 60 (5) of this Act to collate and announce the result of an election if a collated result at his or a lower level of collation is correct.

?Where during collation of results, there is a dispute regarding a collated result or the result of an election from any polling unit, the collation officer or returning officer shall use the following to determine the correctness of the disputed result ?(a) the original of the disputed collated result for each polling unit where the election is disputed and (b) the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System or other technological device used for accreditation of voters in each polling unit where the election is disputed for the purpose of obtaining accreditation data directly from Post-election procedure and collation of election results from the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System or technology device.

The Presiding officer is also expected to use data of accreditation recorded under section 47(2) and transmitted directly from each polling unit where the election is disputed as prescribed under section 47 (2) section 60 (5) of this Act; and (d) the votes and result of the election recorded and transmitted directly from each polling unit where the election is disputed, as prescribed under section 60 (5) of this Act and ?where the disputed result under subsection (6) were otherwise found not to be correct, the collation officer or returning officer shall re-collate and announce a new result using the information in subsection (6) (a)-(d).

Clause 75 which provide for registration of political parties provide among other thing that ?a political association that meets the conditions stipulated in the Constitution and this Act shall be registered by the Commission as a political party within 90 days from the date of receipt of the application, and if after the 90 days such association is not registered by the Commission, unless the Commission informs the association to the contrary, it shall be deemed to have been registered.

?An association, its Chairman and Secretary or principal officer who gives false or misleading information, commit an offence and is liable on conviction, in the case of ? (a) the association to a fine of N20,000,000; and (b) the Chairman, Secretary or principal officer of the association to a fine of N10,000,000 or imprisonment for a term of at least two years or both.

?An application for registration as a political party shall not be processed unless there is evidence of payment of an administrative fee of N50,000,000?, while clause 76 gives the political association the right to challenge the decision of INEC at the Federal High Court.

The law also required every political party to submit its register of members, both in soft and hard copy to the commission not later than 30 days before the conduct of any party primary, congresses of convention, adding that ?only members whose names are contained in the register shall be eligible to vote and be voted for in party primaries, congresses and conventions.?

It also state that ?a party that fails to submit the membership register within the stipulated time shall not be eligible to field a candidate for that election. A political party shall not use any other register for party primaries, congresses and conventions except the register submitted to the Commission?.

The proposed law also provide that ?a political appointee at any level shall not be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election?, adding that ?notwithstanding the provisions of this Act or rules of a political party, an aspirant who complains that any of the provisions of this Act and the guidelines of a political party have not been complied with in the selection or nomination of a candidate of a political party for election, may apply to the Federal High Court for redress?

?Where a court finds that a political party failed to comply with the provisions of this Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate for election shall not be included in the election for the particular position in issue.

?A person that financially or materially induces a delegate for the purpose of influencing the outcome of the party primaries, congresses and conventions commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment to a term of two years without an option of fine.

?Nothing in this section shall empower the Courts to stop the holding of primaries or general elections under this Act pending the determination of a suit?.

While requiring that an election petition be filed within 21 days after the date of the declaration of results of the election, the proposed law states that it also says that every pre-election matter shall be filed not later than 14 days from the date of the occurrence of the event, decision or action complained of in the suit.

It said further that ?the Election Tribunal or court shall deliver its judgement in writing within 90 days from the date of filing the petition, while appeal arising from the decision of an Election Tribunal or court shall be filed not later than 14 days from the date of delivery of judgement appealed against. An appeal arising from the decision of an Election Tribunal or court shall be heard and determined not later than 60 days from the date of filing the appeal.

On pre-election matters, it said ?a court in every pre-election matter shall deliver its judgement in writing within 90 days from the date of filing the suit. An appeal from a decision in a pre-election matter shall be filed within 14 days from the date of delivery of the judgement appealed against. An appeal from a decision of a Court in a pre-election matter shall be heard and disposed of within 60 days from the date of filing of the appeal?.

In addition, it said ?an election tribunal or court shall not declare any person a winner of an election in which such a person has not fully participated in all stages of the election?.

Furthermore, the proposed law states that ?for the purpose of this section, where there is a natural disaster, war or any State or national emergency or any other ?force majeure? that prevents the filing of a pre-election, election petition, sitting of a court over a pre-election matter or the sitting of an election petition tribunal or appellate court, the period of the natural disaster, war or any State or national emergency or any other ?force majeure? shall not be reckoned with in the computation of time under subsections (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) (8) (9) and 10) of this section?.

Highlighting the grounds on which an election can be questioned, the bill states that ?an election may be questioned on any of the following grounds ?(a) the election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or noncompliance with the provisions of this Act; or (b) the respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election?.

It however, states that ?an act or omission which may be contrary to an instruction or directive of the Commission or of an officer appointed for the purpose of the election but which is not contrary to the provisions of this Act shall not of itself be a ground for questioning the election?.

In addition, it seeks to deter frivolous election suits, stating that ?where the court makes a determination that an election is being questioned by a political party or candidate on grounds outside of those provided for under subsection (1), the court shall impose penalties of not less than N5,000,000 on the counsel and not less than N10,000,000 on the petitioner?.

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