A coalition of 25 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has described the signing into law of the Electoral Amendment Bill 2022 as a huge milestone in Nigerian’s quest to consolidate electoral democracy.
The CSOs in a statement on Friday, in Abuja commended President Muhammadu Buhari for signing the Electoral Bill 2022 into Law.
The undersigned CSOs are ActionAid Nigeria, Yiaga Africa,Partners for Electoral Reform (PER) International Press Centre , Institute for Media and Society,Nigerian Women Trust Fund, and The Albino Foundation.
Others are Centre for Citizens with Disability,Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development and Transition Monitoring Group,CLEEN Foundation,Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) ,Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC).
The rest are the Nigeria Network of Non-Governmental Organizations (NNNGO), Inclusive Friends Association (IFA) ,Enough is Enough,The Electoral Hub,Centre for Liberty,Take Back Nigeria Movement and International Peace and Civic Responsibility Centre (IPCRC).
Also included are 100 Women Lobby Group Women in Politics Forum,Raising New Voices, Millennials Active Citizenship Advocacy Africa and ReadyToLeadAfrica.
“The new Electoral Act, 2022 which incorporates innovative provisions that will enhance credibility of our electoral process, signifies a new era in the history of elections in Nigeria.
“More importantly, the new Electoral Act symbolises the commitment of Nigerians to remain consistent in the demand for credible, free, inclusive, transparent and fair elections.
“We, as civil society commend the President for fulfilling his promise of assenting to the Electoral Bill.
“We also commend the National Assembly for their responsiveness in ensuring the Bill substantially reflects the will of the Nigerian people and for transmitting same to the President upon Citizens demands as laid back in Jan. 2022.”
The CSOs further commended and congratulated Nigerians for their active participation and vigilance in engaging the electoral reform process since inception.
The Group said that CSOs and the Media also deserved special commendation for their steadfastness, resilience and sustaining the pressure for successful completion of the electoral reform process.
The Coalition acknowledged the contributions of development partners as well as other stakeholders that consistently provided support towards the electoral reform process.
They said that among other important provisions, the Electoral Act reviewed timelines for election activities.
They added that for instance, the new Act required the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Notice of election not later than 360 days to the next General Election.
“We call on INEC to as a matter of urgency issue a notice of election and announce new dates for the 2023 General Elections.
“The undersigned CSOs call on the National Assembly to ensure gazetted copies of the Electoral Act 2022 are available to citizens and election stakeholders in a timely manner,” the group said. “
The coalition said it noted that a delay in this would further reduce the opportunities for citizen’s and stakeholders to sufficiently familiarise with provisions in the new Act and support its implementation.
According to them, the Electoral Act 2022, is a product of a consistent citizen’s actions and effective partnerships towards reforming Nigeria’s electoral process.
“History will reckon with this dedication towards building our electoral democracy,” the group said (NAN)
