The Coalition of Election Monitors and Observers (CEMO), an
organisation made up of 24 election monitoring groups, has asked President
Muhammadu Buhari not to sign a bill amending the electoral act.
Addressing a press conference on Monday in Abuja, Idris
Yabu, convener of the coalition, said if the president signs the bill, it would
be “counter-productive”.
The national assembly had passed an amendment to the
electoral act allowing statutory delegates to vote in the primary election or
convention of political parties.
Section 84(8) of the current Electoral Act 2022 does not allow statutory delegates to participate in conventions of political parties.
But Yabu said signing the bill now would be “changing the
rules in the middle of the game and disjointing the entire electoral process”.
“It is now too late since political parties have already
commenced activities for the 2023 elections under the provisions of the extant
law,” the convener said.
“After a very extensive review and consultations on the
issue, we submit that the amendments sought to Section 84 of the Electoral Act
2022, as desirable as they may be, have been overtaken by events leading to the
2023 general elections.
“It is instructive to
note that political parties, especially the two major political parties in
Nigeria have already started the electoral processes under the timelines,
schedules and rules prescribed by the provisions of the extant electoral act
2022.
“More importantly, it must be noted that political parties
have already structured their timetables, sold nomination forms, screened
aspirants, conducted congresses, elected delegates, with major parties already
holding primaries and candidates already emerging under the rules provided for
in the current electoral act, 2022.
“In this regard, any alteration or amendment to the
electoral act, at this moment, will amount to changing the rules in the middle
of the game. Such will be dangerous and counter-productive to our democratic
process. It will trigger widespread political crises and result in litigations
that can derail the 2023 general elections.
“Our observation shows that political parties, aspirants and
the electorate have already adjusted to the current provision of section 84 of
the electoral act. Candidates are already peacefully emerging. Any alteration
at this moment has the propensity of dislocating the current political
tranquility in the country and disrupting the entire electoral process.
“CEMO therefore urges
President Muhammadu Buhari to save the nation from a serious political crisis
at this moment by returning the amendment bill to the national assembly for
reprocessing for future elections.”
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com