2015: Senate Moves To Cut INEC Powers

With the 2015 general elections just nine months away, the Senate has commenced the process of amending the 2010 Electoral Act with a view to, among others, lift the embargo on e-voting, reduce the powers of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman and enable the National Assembly fix dates of elections.
Kick-starting the process, the Senate at plenary, yesterday, passed for second reading the Bill for the Amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act earlier presented by the Deputy Senate President and Chairman of the Constitution Amendment Committee, Ike Ekwerenmadu (PDP-Enugu) and Senator Alkali Jajere (APC-Yobe).
Going by the provisions of the amendment bill presented by the two senators, the Senate is proposing to take away from the INEC chairman, the powers to appoint the INEC secretary and place it on the president.
Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Ekwerenmadu, said the bill seeks to provide a renewable tenure of four years on the position of secretary of the commission.
He said the extant Act only empowers the commission to appoint a secretary without stating how long such a person can remain in that position.
Ekwerenmadu further said the bill seeks to remove the embargo placed on the use of Electronic Voting System, as contained in the 2010 Electoral Act, even as he added that with the removal of the embargo on INEC, the commission would now be free to deploy the e-Voting system when it is ready and prepared.
Other senators in their contributions during the debate, demanded that the powers to sequence elections (determine which elections should come first) or fix the dates for the five elections in the country should be taken away from the electoral commission.
They lawmakers, who sought the amendment reasoned that to repose such sensitive powers on INEC entails relinquishing the fate of Nigeria’s democracy on the commission’s chairman, adding that given the stabilisation role of the National Assembly, the lawmakers should have the powers to fix the dates and sequence elections in Nigeria.
However, the proposal by Abu Ibrahim to have the elections in Nigeria conducted same day was rejected by the senators, as the lawmakers argued that the logistics for a successful conduct of all elections same day would be very cumbersome for the electoral commission.
Other amendments by the Senate, as contained in the bill seek to conduct a re-run election from seven to 21 days, receive and treat applications for transfer of voters’ card from 30 to 60 days, receive and treat applications for duplicate voters’ card from 30 to 60 days.
The bill also increased the number of days within which parties and candidates can have access to and inspect certified true copies of polling documents.
In addition to the above, the bill seeks to make laws to fill the lacuna in the Electoral Act and other operational laws of the Abuja Area Council, with regards to appointment of the chairman and members of the Area Council Electoral Tribunal as well as its Election Appeal Tribunal.
The Senate Leader, Ndoma Egba, opined that given the critical role the National Assembly plays in the stability of Nigerian democracy, it would be pertinent to hold the elections of both the executive and the legislature separately.
Enyinnaya Abaribe, in his contribution said, to avoid the abuse of the system, it would be important that the president, who appoints the chairman, national and resident electoral commissioners of INEC should also appoint the secretary of the commission, rather than the commission’s chairman.
He favoured e-voting system on the premise that since INEC has become successful in the use of electronic data capturing system, and that the Nigerian democracy was ripe enough for e-voting .

Chairman, newly reconstituted Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency Board, Rev Precious Omuku (right) conferring with Executive Director, RSSDA, Noble Pepple shortly after the screening and clearing of the board by the state House of Assembly in Port Harcourt, last Monday. Photo: Chris Monyanaga

Nneka Amaech-Nnadi, Abuja