The National Assembly has confirmed the transmission of the latest Electoral Act Amendment Bill to President Buhari for assent.
The Bill seeks to strengthen internal democracy, reduce the cost of politics, widen political participation and the conduct of free fair and credible elections through technological innovations and an electronic database.
However, there have been concerns raised over the enforceability of some of its provisions if assented to before the General elections. For instance the provision requiring INEC to compile, maintain and update a National Electronic Register of Election Results may be time and resource consuming with the Presidential Elections scheduled less than a hundred days. Yet, it is clear that the Bill is needed to give legal backing to the use of smart card readers and other technological devices in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision in the aftermath of the 2015 General elections.
Therefore, there is need for the President to expedite action on the Bill, which has been revised for the fourth time to cater to his observations.