The Senate on Tuesday passed the harmonized version of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021.
The passage followed the approval by the Senate of the conference committee report on the Electoral Act Amendment Bill. It would be recalled that both Chambers of the National Assembly in July had passed different versions of the bill.
But the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on October 13, 2021, set up a seven-man conference committee to liaise with their counterparts in the House of Representatives to harmonize the differences in two versions passed by both chambers.
The report of that committee was presented on Tuesday by its chairman, Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi, who moved a motion for its adoption on Tuesday.
Abdullahi said the bill when passed by the National Assembly, and signed into law by the President, would regulate the conduct of Federal, State and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory Elections.
“It is imperative to point out that with the successful harmonization of this bill, a process that started from the 7th Assembly through to the 8th National Assembly has now been completed by the 9th National Assembly,” he said.
“The bill is now ready for passage and Presidential assent.
“I am happy to state that most of what we call “citizens top priorities” on the Electoral Act Amendment, including the use of technology have been addressed by the Electoral Bill, 2021,” he added.
Tuesday passage concludes the action that started on October 13, 2021, when the Senate amended some aspects of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill in Clauses 43, 52, 63 and 87, which had previously been amended.
On Tuesday, the Senate approved the re-amended clauses to provide for direct primaries for aspirants to all elective positions.
The Senate also empowered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), with respect to Clause 63 of the Act, to determine the procedure for voting and transmission of results during an election.
