Bill for Early Voting Passes Second Reading in Senate

The Senate has passed for second reading a bill seeking to introduce early voting in Nigeria’s electoral process.

The bill aims to enfranchise citizens who, due to the nature of their duties on election days, are unable to exercise their right to vote.

Titled “A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electoral Act (2022) to Provide for Early Voting at Elections, Including Criteria for Eligibility, Procedure at Elections, and Other Related Matters, is sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’adua (APC-Katsina Central)

Leading the debate, Senator Yar’adua explained that the bill seeks to amend the Electoral Act 2022 to introduce early voting, ensuring greater inclusion, participation, and electoral integrity in Nigeria’s democracy.

He emphasized that equal opportunity must be provided to all citizens to participate in elections, regardless of their occupation or deployment on election day.

The bill, he noted, will help ensure the true reflection of the people’s will and enhance the stability of the democratic process.

Yar’adua pointed out that more than one million Nigerians involved in election management are systematically disenfranchised.

Which include:• INEC officials and ad-hoc staff• Security personnel (police, military, DSS, NSCDC, FRSC, Correctional Service, NDLEA, EFCC)• Election observers (144,800 deployed by 196 organizations in 2023)• Journalists covering election day activities

The bill seeks to correct this by providing a legal framework for early voting.

Yar’adua highlighted that early voting is practiced in several democracies worldwide citing United States where Some states allow early voting from a few days up to 45 days before election day.

In Australia Early voting begins 2-3 weeks before elections, with 40% of voters casting ballots early in 2019.

He also cited countries like Canada where Early voting takes place 12 days before election day for greater flexibility , Germany Postal voting starts 4-6 weeks before the election.

The lawmaker says by adopting early voting, Nigeria’s electoral process will be more inclusive, efficient, and align with international best practices.

Supporting the bill, Senator Jimoh Ibrahim (APC-Ondo) described the exclusion of election workers from voting as terrible for democracy.

Senate Minority Leader Abba Moro also backed the bill, stating that unbundling voting arrangements would help ease election day operations.

Following deliberations, the bill was passed for second reading and referred to the Senate Committee on Electoral Matters for further legislative action.

Editor: Ken Eseni