The Senate Wednesday approved major changes to the electoral Act.
Lawmakers reduced the election notice period from 360 days to 180 days before the expiration of the tenure of the current administration.
Consequently, political parties will now submit their lists of candidates not later than 90 days before a general election, while the deadline for nomination of candidates was also cut to 90 days.
On voter accreditation, the Senate formally removed the smart card reader from the electoral framework and replaced it with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), while retaining the Permanent Voter Card (PVC) as the sole means of voter identification.
The proposal to allow alternative forms of identification, including electronically generated or downloadable voter cards with QR codes, was rejected.
The Senate also reviewed penalties for electoral offences, increasing the fine for unlawful possession of voters’ cards from N500,000 to N5 million.
It however rejected the proposal seeking to impose a 10-year ban on individuals convicted of vote buying and other electoral offences.
Senator Asuquo Ekpeyong, who led the opposition’s resistance to the proposal, argued that the decade-long ban was excessive.
He was supported by Akpabio and the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who favoured stiffer fines and prison terms without a political ban.
Explaining the motive behind tougher financial sanctions, Adaramodu said: “When fines are as low as N50,000, people can simply dip their hands into their pockets and pay immediately, and that encourages the commission of offences. So, we reviewed that approach.”
One of the far-reaching amendments concerns candidate disqualification and post-election disputes.
Under the new provisions, political parties will no longer be allowed to replace candidates disqualified after an election.
Where a candidate returned as elected is found not to have scored the majority of valid votes, a rerun election will be conducted, excluding both the disqualified candidate and the sponsoring party.
Adaramodu said the amendment was driven by concerns about fairness and democratic legitimacy.
He said: “There are three key issues here. First is the issue of the declaration of winners. Second is candidacy and screening.
“If a candidate is screened and later disqualified, and the party is told to replace that person, it means the party had control over that illegality. That will drastically reduce pre-election cases.”
Adaramodu added: “Take a case where a candidate scores 800,000 votes and the runner-up scores 10,000 votes. If the tribunal later disqualifies the candidate with 800,000 votes, do we then allow someone with 10,000 votes to represent the entire community? That person was not elected.
“What we now propose is a rerun election, excluding the disqualified candidate and excluding the party that presented that disqualified candidate. That is more equitable.”
Akpabio praised senators for their endurance during the prolonged session, noting that the chamber remained full beyond normal sitting hours.
He said: “Let me state clearly: there was no deliberate attempt by the Senate to delay the amendment of the Electoral Act. Our intention has always been to do this painstakingly, ensuring that the outcome reflects the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.”
The Senate President announced the setting up of a conference committee to harmonise the Senate’s version of the bill with that passed by the House of Representatives.
The committee, chaired by Senator Simon Lalong, has as members Senators Adamu Aliero, Adeniyi Adegbomire, Orji Uzor Kalu, Abba Moro, Asuquo Ekpeyong, Aminu Abbas and Tokunbo Abiru.
Akpabio said the committee had been mandated to conclude its work within the month to enable the National Assembly to transmit a harmonised bill to the President for assent, as public attention now shifts to the final shape of Nigeria’s electoral framework ahead of future elections.
