The National Assembly resumed from its long summer recess this week, with critical focus on the Electoral Bill 2021. The Senate and House of Representatives had passed the bill with some differences. The differences include a key provision regarding the conduct of elections by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). While the Senate required INEC to seek the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Assembly\u2019s approval regarding electronic transmission of results, the House of Representatives left the entire issue of conduct of election, including method of transmission of results, to the discretion of INEC. Under their rules, both chambers of the National Assembly are expected to nominate equal numbers into the harmonisation committee, to resolve the differences in their respective versions. The Senate version of the bill has been criticised for its unconstitutionality. Critics have questioned the legal basis for subjecting INEC\u2019s independence and procedure to approval by a government agency or even the National Assembly, as this violates the provisions of the Constitution that stipulates that INEC shall not be subject to the control or directive of any person or authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
INEC on its part, reiterated that it has the capacity and will to\ndeepen the use of technology in the electoral process. Several election\nstakeholders have continually canvassed\nfor improved use of technology in elections, to keep the human factor at the\nbarest minimum, in a bid to achieve credible and transparent elections. It is\nin furtherance of this that INEC went ahead to launch an all-in-one device for\nelections, to replace the Smart Card Reader (SCR). The device, the INEC Voter\nEnrolment Device (IVED), deployed for the on-going Continuous Voter\nRegistration (CVR) exercise, will also be used for voter authentication and\naccreditation in elections and known in that capacity as the Bi-Modal Voter\nAccreditation System (BVAS). The same machine will also be used to take\npictures of polling unit results and upload same to the INEC Result Viewing\n(I-ReV) portal, thereby replacing the Z-pad. The introduction of this new technology\nis indicative of INEC\u2019s commitment to improve the electoral process. It is\nimportant that the necessary legal framework be put in place to allow the\nElectoral Commission the leeway it requires to conduct elections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are other provisions in the bill that require\nscrutiny. These include the provisions on the method of nomination of\ncandidates by political parties. While the Senate\u2019s provision on the nomination\nof candidates is well crafted in the relevant clause, the House version jumbles\nup the use of direct and indirect primaries in a less elegant manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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