NIGERIAN President Muhammadu Buhari has a sixth opportunity to implement electoral reforms in the country after the National Assembly transmitted the amended Electoral Act Amendment Bill to him for assent into law.
The National Assembly transmitted the bill to Buhari on January 31, according to a statement signed by Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters Babajide Omoworare.
Transmission of the bill to the president by the National Assembly was in line with provisions of Section 58 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and the Acts Authentication Act Cap. A2 LFN 2004.
From the date of transmission, Buhari has 30 days to sign the bill into law, and in the event that he again refuses to do so, he will write the National Assembly to explain his reasons for withholding assent.
If Buhari again refuses to assent to the bill, the National Assembly can decide to override the presidential veto and pass the bill into law with two-thirds majority vote in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers failed to heed calls from Nigerians to override the president when Buhari refused to sign the electoral bill in December 2021.
Buhari said a clause which mandated political parties to adopt the direct primary model for election of candidates for elective positions was the reason he refused to sign the bill into law.
– Advertisement –
Forcing political parties to adopt direct primaries “violates the spirit of democracy,” Buhari said.
According to him, direct primaries would hike the cost of elections and place huge financial burden on political parties and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
He also argued that compulsory adoption of direct primaries violated the rights of the political parties to decide the model through which they wish to elect their flagbearers especially as many parties already have constitutions which provide for different methods of primary elections.
Buhari also pointed to security implications of holding direct primaries in parts of the country as one of the factors that informed his refusal to assent to the bill.
To address Buhari’s concerns, the National Assembly upon resumption after its Yuletide recess moved quickly to amend the bill.
On January 25, the National Assembly passed the amended electoral bill which provided political parties with three models of primary elections – direct, indirect and consensus.
