National Assembly set to consider approving one day general election in 2027

The National Assembly is considering amending the Electoral Act, which will most likely include holding all elections on the same day.

House of Representatives Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, who offered the promise yesterday, implied that if the measure is passed and signed by the President, presidential, gubernatorial, national, and state House of Assembly elections might all take place on the same day.

He spoke with delegation from the European Union’s Election Observation follow-up mission to Nigeria’s 2023 general election in Abuja yesterday.

The Barry Andrews-led delegation also visited Headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), where it chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, warned that delay by the lawmakers in amending the Electoral Act 2022 could hamper preparations for the 2027 general election.

The delegation, which has been in the country for about three weeks to study the level of implementation of the recommendations contained in its report after the 2023 general election, also interfaced with the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP).

Abbas, in a statement by his Press Secretary, Leke Bayeiwu, told the EU team that its reports on the 2023 polls were being considered in the ongoing electoral and democratic reforms by the National Assembly.

Abbas said: “I want to acknowledge that the leadership of the country under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is committed to ensuring that we improve on our electoral processes, particularly regarding the observations made (by international observers) on the 2023 elections.

“We in the National Assembly have also been busy working to gather as many issues as possible, arising from the last elections, so that we can see how we can legislatively address them; so that our next election will be more transparent, acceptable and in alignment with international standards.”

He told the team that a recent joint Senate and House of Representatives leadership meeting resolved to isolate electoral amendment issues and accelerate their consideration and passage.

He explained that it was the thinking of many members of the National Assembly that a single-day election would not only improve efficiency and transparency in electoral conduct but also reduce costs by almost 40 per cent.

He said: “Like the single-day election, it is to hold the election of the president, National Assembly membership, governorship and state House of Assembly membership elections on the same day.

“In our own thinking, it will help to reduce our electoral costs to as much as 40 per cent if we can hold the elections within a day. It will also improve transparency and increase efficiency, particularly on the turnout of voters.”

Source: The Sun