President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 into law at the Council Chambers of the State House, Abuja, on Friday. The president had dragged his feet on signing the bill for seven years and this was largely interpreted as reluctance to contribute to meaningful electoral reforms in the country.

Many Nigerians argued that political appointees deliberately delayed the process of signing the bill into law because of a certain clause which would compel them to resign before contesting elective positions. More prominent are the accusations that politicians refused to accept the clause that would mandate electronic transmission of results due to its potential to drastically reduce result manipulation between the polling booths and collation centres.

The implications of signing the bill into law are numerous, but here are six ways the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 will change the conduct of elections in Nigeria.

CLAUSE 50: ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION OF RESULTS

Clause 50 empowers the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to determine if election results will be transmitted electronically or manually. With the need for urgency and accuracy, INEC will henceforth employ electronic transmission in all areas it deems fit during an election. The electronic record on card readers will be sent immediately after votes have been counted and help INEC officials have a balanced result when compared with physical records from each polling unit. Clause 50 helps Nigeria move closer to a more transparent election.

CLAUSE 3 (3): EARLY RELEASE OF ELECTION FUNDS TO INEC

This clause prescribes funding for general elections not less than a year before such elections. One of the topmost organisational challenges INEC highlighted over the past election cycles was funding. Inadequate and delayed funding has plagued INEC in every general election prior to 2023, and this clause is a couple of steps towards the right direction of delivering better services during elections. It is strongly believed that Clause 3 (3) will improve the financial independence of INEC. If all the funds required for a general election are released on time, the conduct of the election will be less of a hassle for the commission.

CLAUSE 54 (2): INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY

Clause 54 (2) is an improvement of the electoral commission’s recognition of people living with disabilities. This clause mandates INEC to ensure that persons with special needs, vulnerable persons, and people living with disabilities are granted the assistance they can get at the polling booth, including assistance in the form of electronic devices, braille devices, sign language interpretation, and other forms of support. The impact of this clause cannot be understated. Nigeria will get a more inclusive electorate if more persons with special needs are encouraged to participate in elections.

CLAUSE 65: POWER TO REVIEW ELECTION RESULTS DECLARED UNDER DURESS

The importance of this clause rests on the fact that compromised election results can be reviewed. INEC now has the power to review declarations and returns made under questionable circumstances to make returning officers more accountable. This provision will improve the result management process and discourage political stakeholders from compelling election officials to declare highly compromised election results.

CLAUSE 29: (1) EARLY CONDUCT OF PARTY PRIMARIES AND SUBMISSION OF LIST OF CANDIDATES

Political parties are now required to conduct party primary elections no later than 180 days prior to election day. Every political party is mandated to promptly submit the list of its candidates to INEC.

‘UNFAVOURABLE’ CLAUSE 84 (12)

President Muhammadu Buhari said Clause 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022 does not serve as an improvement. According to the president, this clause “constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at conventions or congresses of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the National Election”.

This section of the Electoral Act states that “no political appointee at any level shall be voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election”.

INEC’s decision to prevent political appointees from partaking in conventions or congresses of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election is a clause borne out of numerous antecedents. This clause obviously aims to limit the far-reaching influence of government officials in partisan politics, but it is one clause many politicians are displeased with.

The Electoral Act 2022 is an acceptable improvement over the repealed Electoral Act No. 6, 2010. The new act clearly defines previously vague terms such as “overvoting” and holds political party primaries to higher and practical standards. The act can, however, be more expressive in its provisions for persons with special needs and be more explicit about the conditions under which the electoral commission may or may not employ electronic transmission of results in general elections.