The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.
Chairman of INEC, Joash Amupitan, made the call in his remarks at the regular quarterly consultative meeting of the commission with the civil society organisations (CSOs) on Wednesday in Abuja
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Mr Amupitan called for the CSOs’ support in urging the National Assembly to do the needful on time.
While the House of Representatives has since passed the Electoral Act amendments, the Senate is currently considering them.
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According to Mr Amupitan, an early amendment to the Act is critical to the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general elections, including the release of the timetable and schedule of activities.
He said that while the commission had already concluded the timetable for the 2027 general elections, it was still awaiting the conclusion of the amendment of the Electoral Act.
“Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, empowers the commission to issue a notice of election not later than 360 days before the date of the poll.
“While the National Assembly is currently working on amendments to the Electoral Act, the commission has made its submission as required.
“We are mindful of the growing public interest and anticipation surrounding the release of the timetable.
“We wish to assure political parties and the Nigerian public that the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections will be released in full compliance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the Electoral Act, 2022.
“Having said that, we seek your support in urging the National Assembly to expedite action on the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act.
“We have hesitated a little bit because we have the timetable already, but there are some proposed amendments that will affect the timetable. But, if the process is delayed any further, we may have to go to the extant laws,” he said.
On the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Area Council elections, Mr Amupitan said that INEC would hold a mock accreditation on Saturday. 7 February in 289 selected polling units across the six area councils.
He disclosed that 83 domestic and five foreign observers had been accredited for the polls, which would involve 1,680,315 registered voters across 2,822 polling units in the six area councils of the FCT.
The INEC chairman also said that the election would be contested by 570 candidates in 68 constituencies for the positions of chairmen and vice-chairmen, and by 62 councillors, comprising 10 wards each for five area councils and 12 wards for the Abuja Municipal Area Council.
Mr Amupitan urged the CSOs to help mobilise FCT residents to go out and collect their permanent voter cards (PVCs) during the ongoing distribution, which ends on 10 February in FCT, saying: “We do not want anyone to be disenfranchised.”
He also urged the CSOs to monitor the activities of the political parties, especially their campaigns and general conduct in the election.
“Let’s sensitise the public, particularly political party members, to refrain from hate speech, vote buying, misinformation, disinformation and violence during campaigns and to conduct their activities strictly within the framework of the law,” he said.
Mr Amupitan said that on INEC’s part, non-sensitive materials had been delivered and batched at each area council, while recruitment and training of ad hoc personnel had been concluded.
“Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) devices are being configured for accreditation and upload of results to the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal, and sensitive materials would be delivered a day before the election,” he said.
Speaking on behalf of the CSOs, Grace Jerry pledged the organisations’ continuous support in the continued push for democracy that would work for every Nigerian.
Mrs Jerry also pledged the organisation’s support to the commission to ensure seamless conduct of the FCT Area Council elections.
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She urged INEC to ensure that every citizen would feel the need to exercise their civil rights and that their vote would count.
Mrs Jerry also called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the passage of the Electoral Act amendment bill.
“Already, we are concerned about how that would affect the plan from INEC, and that is why we are calling on all hands to be on deck.
“Whoever needs to be called upon, whatever actions need to be taken, need to be expedited, and need to be done quickly because we have concerns for the 2027 elections,” she said.
(NAN)
