The Civil Society groups has proposed a limitation on cost of nomination for political party primaries and proper regulation of the party primary process which they said remains fundamental in this process of electoral reform.
The CSOs in a joint statement signed by Yiaga Africa, Centre for Liberty, Millennials Active Citizenship Advocacy Africa and others after the just concluded Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committee on INEC and Electoral Matters met to deliberate on the Electoral Amendment Bill.
They called on the Lawmakers to be bold and courageous in bequeathing to Nigerians an enduring new Electoral Act that will stand the test of time.
Nigerians have spoken through their memoranda submitted at the public hearing on the proposed electoral amendment bill on December 9, 2020.
According to the group, Nigerians deserve a new Electoral Act that truly strengthens the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct free, fair and credible elections, that improves the quality of elections by ensuring citizens participation and transparency in the process, that ensures inclusion of women, youth and persons with disabilities in the electoral process and guarantees electoral integrity.
They reiterated that Nigerians deserve a process that ensures inclusion and limits the role of money in our process. As such,
They also stated that the deployment of technology in elections remain vital in promoting transparency and ensuring that votes truly count.
The group called on the joint committee to ensure that the proposal legalising the electronic accreditation, electronic voting, and electronic transmission of results are adopted.
According to the group it is important to note that introducing electronic collation and transmission of results in our Electoral Act to complement the manual process will ensure transparency, real-time reportage and build citizen confidence in the election results collation process.
“We believe that the members of the committee will not jeopardise the future of democratic and transparent elections in Nigeria by making decisions that negates democratic principles and the will of the people.
“We encourage the National Assembly to do the right thing as it sits to decide over these amendments. We are very interested in the success of this process and that we have a new Electoral Act to regulate the conduct of the 2021 Anambra and the 2022 Ekitiand Osun states Governorship Elections before the 2023 General Elections. As such, we rely on the leadership of the National Assembly to ensure that this goal is achieved.
“We hold the National Assembly to its commitment to release the proposed bill this first quarter of 2021. Posterity will be good to the 9th National Assembly if they give Nigerian’s a new Electoral Act that truly captures the needs of the people and supports democratic development in Nigeria. Nigerians are watching.”
