UNDERSTANDING 2018 ELECTORAL ACT AMENDMENT FROM CONSPIRACY THEORY

UNDERSTANDING 2018 ELECTORAL ACT AMENDMENT FROM CONSPIRACY THEORY

                 By:

Nurudeen Dauda

         March 14, 2018

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From the "Conspiracy theory" perspective, it is my firm belief that, those who are not comfortable with the recognition of Smart Card Reader into our laws to which if recognized will lead to free and fair elections as it relatively did in 2015 are, in my view, responsible for the "inclusion of a controversial "clause" on changing the order of elections in order to block the passage of 2018 proposed Electoral Act Amendments Bill. 

Permit me to refer my readers to my write ups of the 30th of January, 2018 with the title " changing the order of 2019 elections: Is the card reader not the main target?

There are a lot of good  proposals in the 2018 Electoral Act amendments which if introduced will improve our democracy. One of those proposals is the recognition of  "Technology"or "Smart Card Reader" in our electoral process which is presently neither in the 1999 constitution as amended nor in the 2010 Electoral Act as amended.

I have earlier on predicted that at the end of the whole exercise of the 2018 Electoral Act Amendments the President might not sign the new amendment due to the inclusion of the controversial clause for changing the order of elections. As I have once argued , Mr President knowing full well that there is a Supreme Court Judgement which conferred powers to INEC to issue Guidelines and Orders of elections he might withhold his assent  .That has come to pass!

If the National Assembly were sincere enough with the amendment, what they should have done from the onset was to amend the Act in "parts" or in "sections" not as a single whole document.The amendments of the Electoral Act as single whole document, in my view, was a costly and avoidable mistake .

The leadership of the 8th National Assembly has earlier on told the whole world that, the "lesson" learned from the failed constitutional amendments by the 7th National Assembly was that having spent billions of naira from the tax-payers' money the then President withheld his assent due to one or two "sections" that we wasn't comfortable with .

It was in view of that, that the ongoing constitutional amendment is being done in "parts" or in "sections "not as a single whole document so that at the end of the exercise the country will achieve something. Had it been the Electoral Act  amendment is made in"sections" or in "parts" the President would have probably signed some  sections of the amendment . 

Although other reasons were given for rejecting the amendment , the major reason for withholding assent by the Mr President, in my conviction , is the controversial "clause for changing the order of elections.

The 2015 General elections though not perfect , but has been widely adjudged as the most credible election in the 4th Republic courtesy of the Card Reader Technology. In my view, credible election is the surest way of having good governance as such it is more important in a democracy than any other thing. 

In 2015 many alleged election "riggers" who were taken to court on the allegations of rigging by sabotaging the Card Reader Technology escaped justice simply because neither the 1999 constitution as amended nor the 2010 Electoral Act as amended recognize the Card Reader Technology.

When the issue for altering the order of elections come up some people looked at it as a way of allowing candidates to "win" elections on their "merit" or "popularity "not by relying on the "influence" or popularity of a particular candidate, but even as of then , there was another dimension to it which, in my view, is to frustrate the introduction of technology in the electoral process. 

The introduction of the said controversial clause has now succeeded in deniying us the opportunity of accommodating some far-reaching amendments that might improve our electoral process . In my prediction, the National Assembly would hardly get two-third majority in both houses to "veto" the President on the amendment.

In my observation, the enemies of credible elections might have temporarily succeeded.

May God bless Nigeria!