INEC Urges National Assembly to Fast-Track Electoral Reforms for Seamless Elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has renewed appeal to the National Assembly to expedite action on the electoral amendment and legal reforms currently before it for seamless implementation on the side of the electoral umpire.

It also said that one of the perennial problems of postponement of elections associated with the delay in printing of ballot materials has been put to rest since they are now printed locally by identified reliable printers.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the official opening of INEC Retreat on Updating Nigeria’s Electoral Reforms in collaboration with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre held at the Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

He said the body was glad to realise that Nigerian printers have the capacity to meet their needs in terms of the printing of electoral materials including ballot papers and result sheets for elections from 2019, which was never the case since the return of democracy in the country in 1999.

The INEC boss was of the view that the retreat will afford the National Assembly and other critical stakeholders the platform to deliberate on all aspects of the nation’s electoral laws for legal backing, logistics, litigation, and removal of ambiguity to pave way for good practices during future elections in the country.

According to him, the retreat will also give room for INEC to have field experience from the practicing politicians for appropriate review of the electoral system for proper management of the process.

Prof. Mahmood Yakubu noted that one of the benefits of the last retreat was the introduction of technology to the system, adding that the voter register increased by 10 million from the 2011 elections till 2023.

He disclosed that to improve on the electoral process, the foundation must be rooted in the legal framework, urging the participants to come up with a position that will encourage Nigerians to participate in the electoral process.

On his part, the Deputy Chairman Senate Committee on INEC, Senator Abdulaziz Musa Yar’Adua, described free, credible, and fair election as a major pillar of enduring democracy.

He said that timely reform is needed to strengthen the process to remain acceptable, noting that the legislature and the executive must work closely to give the country the best it deserves.

Senator Yar’Adua however declared that gross misconduct and disregard for electoral laws by politicians and political parties must be dealt with accordingly, adding that the outcome of the 2023 general election made it imperative to review bottlenecks and propose legislative amendments to improve the process.

The Co-Chairman of the National Assembly Committee on Electoral Matters, Hon. Adebayo Balogun, believes the retreat provides a unique opportunity to chart a progressive path of inclusiveness and fairness in the nation’s electoral process.

The federal lawmaker explained that every piece of legislation requires review in tandem with the present situation, saying the retreat will allow the committee to sit with INEC to look at the critical areas for timely intervention.

Hon. Balogun further noted that the retreat was a huge challenge to all participants to put the national interest above personal ones and thanked the partners for their commitments and passion in seeing improvement in the entire electoral process.

In his remarks, the Executive Director of Policy Legislative and Advocacy Centre, Mr. Clement Nwankwo, said that there was huge improvement in the electoral process but the challenge is full implementation of the legal framework.

He was clear in his submission that the 2027 general election will be a challenging one, demanding that a new Electoral Act must be in place by the end of 2025 and urged INEC to be steadfast and commence early preparations in order to address the bottlenecks ahead of time.

One of the stakeholders from the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office, Dr. Mathew Ayibakuro, assured that they remain committed to improving the process and encouraged by the fact that INEC was passionate about timely implementation of new electoral reform.

The Governance Adviser of the group is hopeful that the current reform will produce an acceptable process by all stakeholders.

The theme of the Retreat was Emergent Issues in the Electoral Legal Framework Since the 2023 General Elections.