- INEC said the amendments to the Electoral Act 2010 should be passed into law at least 6 months before the 2019 election
- INEC said as a law abiding commission it would obey the amendment once signed into law
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday, January 29, said it would only comply with the amendments to the Electoral Act 2010 if lawmakers succeed in passing it into law six months before the 2019 general election.
The commission's National Commissioner, Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu, who represented the National Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, made the statement at a function at the Electoral Institute in Abuja, This Day reports.
Ibeanu said: "INEC works with the Electoral Act. If there is a legitimate amendment to the Act, INEC will have no option than to obey, but that must happen first.
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“Like I said, the role of INEC is to conduct elections based on the law; if there is a legitimate amendment to the Electoral Act, INEC will obey it.”
Under the proposed amendments, the National Assembly election would hold first, followed by the governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections. The presidential election would be conducted last.
INEC, in its timetable released on January 9, had scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for February 16, 2019 and governorship and House of Assembly for March 2, 2019.
Ibeanu said: “It is still a proposal by the House of Representatives. I think it is still going to enjoy the concurrence of both chambers of the National Assembly for harmonisation.”
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NAIJ.com previously reported that the chief whip of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, has alleged that the amendment done by the house to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2019 general elections is a mischievous plan against the All Progressives Congress (APC) and President Muhammadu Buhari.
More than 30 members of the house carried out the amendment on Tuesday, January 23. The lawmakers amended sections of the Electoral Act, 2010, to allow National Assembly elections come first, followed by that of governors and members of the Houses of Assembly, while the presidential election comes last.
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Source: Naija.ng