The Nigeria civil society community has declared Tuesday, February 22 as the National Day of Protest to demand immediate assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022.
A statement signed by 26 civil society organisations, the activists will organise peaceful public and direct-action activities to further the demand to assent to the bill. They urge citizens across the country to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to act on the bill as a matter of urgent national importance.
It will be recalled that on January 31, 2022, the National Assembly transmitted the Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 to the President for assent after expeditiously reworking it to meet the President’s expectations.
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The bill that allows for electronic transmission of results, strengthens INEC’s financial independence and empower the Commission to reject falsified election results.
Members of the Group also note that the bill when signed, requires INEC to issue Notice of Election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for an election. Therefore, the President has to give assent to the bill on or before February 22 if the dates announced for the 2023 elections are to be maintained. INEC had announced that the Presidential, Senate and House of Representatives elections will hold simultaneously on Saturday, February 18, 2023.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
