•Endorses real time e-transmission of election result 

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja 

Barring any change in its decision, the National Assembly may likely not approve proposals on early voting and prison inmates right to cast vote during an election in Nigeria.

The indication came on Wednesday at the opening of a One-Day Retreat of the Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters, Review of the Electoral Act (Repeal and Enactment Bill), 2025.

The retreat organised in partnership with Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), was held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.  

Among those that attended were Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Joash Amupitan, as well as senators and House Representatives members.

While giving an update on the outcome of the last retreat by the committee in Lagos, former Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Seriake Dickson, said there were salient issues in relation to early voting and voting by prisoners, which most members of the committee did agree on.

Regarding the proposal on early voting, Dickson said, Some of the salient issues that we discussed, like the proposal on early voting, Mr. Chairman, the workshop did not accept it. 

Mr. Chairman and Co-Chair can so rule; we can go back on it. But at the Lagos meeting, we were not convinced.

There was also a proposal on prison inmates having the right to vote. That proposal, too, we felt, was going to be too problematic and may complicate rather than solve problems. 

And as laudable as both proposals werethat is, early voting and prison inmates votingthe meeting in Lagos was not persuaded.

Dickson suggested that the issue be revisited by the committee so that anybody with compelling reason to support the proposals could bring it forward.

The ex-Bayelsa State governor also said some members of the committee drew the attention of the meeting to a subsisting court judgement affirming the rights of prison inmates to vote.

Dickson, who chaired the Lagos meeting of the committee on behalf of its co-chairman, Senator Simon Bako Lalong, said almost 50 members of the National Assembly participated in the meeting in Lagos.

Dickson said the Lagos meeting unanimously agreed that, We should have electronic transmission in a very clear manner that will not be ambiguous. 

So, I think the amendment we made was to bring it in line with the original proposal that was there. So that is what we did.

He explained that the proposal was to have electronic transmission of election results and also activation of the IReV simultaneously, while hard copies were also maintained for comparison. 

In addition, Dickson gave an update on deliberations of the committee on the modalities for indirect party primaries. 

He said, For direct primaries, you dont have a problemevery registered member will have a right to go to the ward headquarters or whatever is designated to vote. 

But for indirect, knowing what happened to particularly senior members of parties last time, because of the unfortunate omission that was made at the National Assembly level, a lot of senior members who were leaders and founders and financiers of parties were disenfranchised. And the meeting agreed to revisit that and to correct that anomaly.

Speaking at the retreat, the co-chairman of the joint committee, Lalong said the major task was to examine each section and sub-section of the Electoral Bill 2025 closely and constructively.

He stated, It is our duty to ensure that the bill not only addresses the present challenges faced in our electoral system, but also anticipates future needs and emerging trends in the political landscape. 

This means eliminating any ambiguities, correcting any deficiencies, and fine-tuning provisions to ensure that they are both legally sound and practically feasible.

The process of cleaning up the Bill is not merely a technical exercise. It is an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to the rule of law, to fairness, and to a level playing field for all political actors. 

As we go through the Bill section by section, let us be guided by the fundamental goal of ensuring that our electoral system is free from manipulation, fraud, and undue influence.

Earlier, Executive Director, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, (PLAC), Mr. Clement Nwankwo, gave more details on some of the issues contained in the proposed electoral reform bill.

According to him, one of the key issues deliberated on was early voting, which was meant to allow some identified Nigerian security personnel, officials of INEC, accredited domestic observers, accredited journalists, and ad hoc staff of the commission to vote a week or two earlier, and results held, or the counting of the ballot held until the general elections. 

He said there was also the issue of replacement of Section 18 of the Electoral Act with a new Section 18, which talked about the replacement of a voters card, and whether a downloadable voters card was possible. 

Nwankwo added, Concerns were raised about the potential for fraud with respect to this, and the committee decided to retain the existing Section 18, subsection one, rather than this new proposal.

There were also proposals related to Section 47, subsection two, to replace the words smart card reader with the words Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), and the committee deliberated on this, and resolved that it should be retained without any amendment because of the provision that said any other technological device.

There were issues related to Section 22  offences of buying and selling voters cards  and a new proposal was made respecting this, and the committee decided that the provision as-is should be retained and the penalty as-is be retained, which is N500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years. 

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