Electoral Act: INEC should take burden of proof in election disputes – Senators

The commission is in-charge of every action at the election, should be able to prove, validate outcome of every poll, says Akpabio

Some senators have called for an amendment to Nigeria’s Electoral Act placing full responsibility on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prove election results, amidst litigations.

The senators made the call on Wednesday at plenary during the resumed debate on a bill for an act to repeal the Electoral Act No. 13, 2022 and enact the Electoral Bill 2025 to regulate conduct of federal, state and area council elections.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the senate had, on Oct. 16, stood down further consideration of the bill, saying that the time was not auspicious to debate it.

The upper chamber had also emphasised the need for further consultations on the bill before proceeding further.

Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Opeyemi Bamidele (APC-Ekiti), had also stressed the need for lawmakers to fully understand the general principles and details of the bill, hence the postponement of further consideration to another legislative date.

At the resumed debate on the bill, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said INEC must be held responsible for elections it conducted.

According to Akpabio, the burden of proof on election outcomes lies on the commission.

He said that INEC should be able to prove that the elections it conducted were done in line with provisions of the law.

“They are in charge of logistics and electoral materials, every action at the election, and so, they should be able to prove and validate the outcome of every election,” he said.

Akpabio further stated that the National Assembly would put in its best on the electoral act amendment bill for the good of Nigerians and the nation’s electoral system.

Corroborating Akpabio, Sen. Seriake Dickson (PDP-Bayelsa) said that the burden of proof on electoral matters should lie with INEC alone and not the election dispute contenders in court.

Dickson also advocated for deployment of improved technology on election matters, such as BVAS and improved funding for the commission.

Sen. Lere Oyewumi (PDP-Osun) also called for provision of stiffer penalties for election offenders to serve as deterrents to other would-be offenders.

Sen. Mohammed Monguno (APC-Borno) said conducting credible party primaries was key to conducting general elections, saying that the sought amendment should regulate party primaries, especially on what candidates spend on election primaries.

According to him, there is the need to curb the incidence of vote buying in the election system.

Sen. Garba Maidoki (APC-Kebbi) said that measures should be devised for Nigerians in the diaspora to be involved in the country’s electoral process, given their contribution to the economy via remittances, thus boosting economic growth.

Sen. Adamu Alero (APC-Kebbi) said efforts should be made to remove all the inconsistencies in the act, stressing that elected officials should be made to be part of political party primary via their inclusion on the delegate list.

He advocated for elimination of all forms of electoral malpractices through improved use of BVAS and other technology to make elections in Nigeria free and fair.

“Let us work to improve the BVAS, to announce whatever is the election results,” Alero said.

Other lawmakers who supported the introduction of improved technology for the country’s electoral process included: Senators Orji Uzor Kalu (APC-Abia) and Ali Ndume (APC-Borno).

NAN reports that the bill, which passed second reading, was referred to the Senate Committee on INEC for further legislative inputs