Senate schedules emergency plenary on Tuesday for debate on e-transmission of election results
The Nigerian Senate has scheduled an emergency plenary sitting for Tuesday, February 10, at 12 midday. The Clerk of the Senate, Emmanuel Odo, issued a observe on Sunday, February 8, declaring the session was once convened on the directive of the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The emergency sitting happens amidst sizable public strain on the national meeting to revisit a key provision inside the Electoral amendment bill. This follows the Senate’s deliberation on the invoice ultimate , in which it voted to retain the present clause 60(three) concerning the electronic transmission of election results as contained within the 2022 Electoral Act.
seriously, all through that consultation, the Senate rejected proposed amendments that would have mandated the actual-time digital transmission of consequences from polling gadgets. It additionally voted in opposition to implementing a ten-yr ban on vote-consumers, opting to maintain the contemporary sanctions of fines or prison phrases. The retained clause states that outcomes shall be transferred “in a procedure as prescribed through the [Independent National Electoral] commission,” language that critics argue grants INEC an excessive amount of discretion and could enable delays or manipulation.
at the same time as Senate leaders have clarified that the consignment, as handed remaining week, enjoyed majority support, the selection to reject real-time transmission has sparked big debate and criticism from electoral reform advocates. The emergency sitting on Tuesday is broadly seen as a right away reaction to this pressure, doubtlessly to rethink the contentious clause.
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