Tribunal Verdict: Election Observer Calls for INEC, Electoral Act Reform
- There is an urgent call for the Electoral Act of 2022 to be revisited for amendment following the recent judgment of the presidential election petition court
- A foremost electoral observer, Hamzat Lawal, made this call in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng over the week
- Lawal said there is a need to strengthen the Electoral Act to give the electoral body an independent status
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FCT, Abuja - Human rights activist and chief executive officer of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, has called for the strengthening and amendment of the Electoral Act.
Lawal made this call following the final declaration of the presidential election petition tribunal, which ruled in favour of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Source: UGC
During an exclusive interview with Legit.ng Lawal said there is a need to amend the Electoral Act based on the election outcome.
He said:
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“..with this election, what we have seen, we need to strengthen them further, amend and remove any ambiguity so it would help strengthen the process.
“I also think if we strengthen the electoral act, then we would know the role of technology and if it can be admissible in court.”
Lawal calls for electoral reform
Lawal further noted that there is a need for the Electoral Act to strengthen and empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and make it truly independent.
He explained that strengthening INEC will protect the institution from the pressure and interference of politicians.
Lawal said:
“...we also need to strengthen the INEC so that politicians can not interfere even and induce the decisions by the electorate.
“We all know that in the 2023 election, every party was complicit. They tried to use different tactics to interfere in the process.”
The A-list electoral observer added that some of the loopholes in the Electoral Act are the reason for the delay in prosecuting electoral offenders.
He said:
“I think we need to strengthen it (Electoral Act) in a way that it gives authorities and power to law enforcement agencies.
“Because a lot of these offenders have yet not been prosecuted. So, I think if we can strengthen the electoral act that allows INEC to be truly independent.
“And how they undertake their constitution mandate but also gives law enforcement officer a lot of leverage to prosecute and anyone caught trying to interfere in the process would be brought to book.”
Why Tinubu will continue to defeat Atiku, Obi, others
Meanwhile, Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have been urged to unite ahead of the 2027 presidential polls.
In an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, the Chief Executive Officer of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, made this call.
Lawal said the Nigerian political scene lacks formidable opposition, and an alliance between Atiku and Obi would be a great match to upstage President Tinubu in 2027.
Source: Legit.ng
