INEC Proposes 34 Amendments To Electoral Act

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is proposing 34 amendments to the Electoral Act, it was learnt, yesterday.
Its Director of Legal Services, Oluwatoyin Babalola, said there are certain shortcomings in the electoral legal framework that needed to be addressed through legislation.
Also, Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Sam Olumekun, said the delimitation of constituencies was long overdue in accordance with the 1999 Constitution.
He said the last constituency delimitation was done “more than a long time ago’, adding that the population of the country and registered voters have increased exponentially, thereby underscoring an urgent review for proportional and fair representation
The INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, said the agency was committed to the review of the electoral act to enhance better conduct of elections.
The electoral officers spoke in Lagos, yesterday, at the opening of a week-long retreat on the review of the electoral legal framework jointly organised by the commission, the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES).
The 37 RECs, national commissioners and directors of INEC were present at the retreat.
On Thursday and Friday, members of the National Assembly Committees on INEC and Electoral Matters will join the retreat for what Yakubu described as an “in-depth review of their proposals and the commission’s input”.
Babalola said the lacuna in the provisions of the extant Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) have been identified and highlighted by INEC and stakeholders, adding that there have been calls in recent times for amendment to address the lacuna to foster better elections.
She recalled that while INEC’s proposals were accepted, the amended Electoral Act was not signed into law by the executive.
Noting that the retreat was organised to give the electoral officers to contribute ideas and harmonise the inputs, Babalola said: “There are 34 proposed amendments elaborated in four columns.”