• Pushes for early voting, PVC replacement
• Stakeholders seek electoral reform, single-day voting, others
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is proposing amendments to Nigeria’s electoral framework to strip the President of the power to appoint Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs).
The proposed change would instead give the commission power to make the appointments, though with a different nomenclature to be known as State Directors of Elections.
INEC is also pushing for the introduction of electronically downloadable voter cards to replace Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs). Also, the commission’s Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) and other stakeholders have stressed the need for electoral reforms, a single-day voting system and voting without a Permanent Voter Card (PVC) ahead of the 2027 general election to ensure credibility.
Specifically, the commission is seeking amendments to Section 14 (3) Paragraph F of the Third Schedule to the Constitution to confer the power of appointing and disciplining heads of states and FCT offices of INEC on the commission.
INEC is also proposing an amendment to Section 6 (3) of the Electoral Act 2022 to confer the power of appointing heads of states and FCT offices on INEC.
Special Adviser to the INEC chairman, Mohammad Kuna, disclosed this in his presentation at a retreat with the Joint Committee of the National Assembly on Electoral Matters on the reform of the electoral legal framework held in Lagos, yesterday. He said the proposal was essential to promote transparency, accountability and efficiency in the electoral process.
The REC is the person in charge of the INEC office at the state level. Assisted by relevant government agencies, the REC undertakes the presidential, National Assembly, governorship and House of Assembly elections and acts pursuant to powers delegated to them by the INEC National Chairman and his 12 commissioners.
THE stakeholders’ push for electoral reforms was disclosed, yesterday, at a two-day retreat of Joint Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Electoral Matters, in conjunction with INEC and supported by PLAC, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Development Alternatives, Inc. (DAI), in Lagos.
The Executive Director of PLAC, Clement Nwankwo, stressed the need to adopt a single-day voting system, saying it would reduce the cost of elections in the country.
According to him, the present cost of conducting elections is too high. Citing the nearly half a trillion naira spent on general elections, he said adopting a single-day voting system would significantly reduce the cost. He said: “Ghana has achieved it? And it is not because Ghana has a smaller population. It is simply because we need to find a way of managing it.’’
The cost of elections in this country is too high. The idea that we are budgeting nearly half a trillion naira to conduct a general election is unacceptable when you can very much reduce the cost significantly.” Nwankwo also questioned the necessity of PVCs, arguing that proper voter registration and biometric capture could suffice.
The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, stressed the need for timely electoral reforms to give INEC sufficient time to implement new laws and prepare for elections.
(Guardian)
