The House of Representatives has proposed a single day for the conduct of the five elections coming up in 2027.
If the proposal is upheld, the reviewed Electoral Act would empower the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to simultaneously conduct the presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives, governorship and House of Assembly polls on the same day.
Other amendments being proposed by the Lower Chamber of the National Assembly include the payment of N50 million by political associations seeking registration as parties, restriction of presidential election expenses to N10 billion, conduct of elections 120 days before the expiration of the incumbent’s term and determination of election petitions within 90 days after the exercise.
The House also took steps to end series of by-elections arising from resignation and death of elected members of the state and National Assembly, proposing that parties who sponsored the lawmaker who died or resigned be made to produce his replacement.
The Electoral Bill 2025 titled: “A bill for an Act to repeal the Electoral Act No 13, 2022 and to enact the Electoral Act 2025, to regulate the conduct of Federal, State and Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory elections and for related matters” had passed through the Second Reading in the House
The bill sponsored by the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Bayo Balogun (APC, Lagos), also seeks the payment of an administrative fee of N50 by political associations before the application is processed.
Although the 2022 Act provides that such associations would be required to pay an administrative fee, the amount is left to the discretion of INEC.
Also, the proposed amendment seeks to restrict governorship election expenses to N3 billion, representing an increase from N1 billion in the 2022 Electoral Act.
Senatatorial, House of Representatives, Houses of Assembly, Chairmanship and Councillorship election expenses are restricted to N500 million, N250 million, N30 million (for State Assembly and Chairman) and N10 million respectively.
According to the proposed review, “no individual or other entity shall donate to a candidate more than N500 million.”
Clause 27 of the proposed law states that elections at all levels shall be held not earlier than 210 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the tenure of office of the occupants of the office, adding that “where a vacancy occurs in any of the Houses mentioned in sub-section (1) more than 90 days before the date of general elections, an election shall be held to fill such vacancy not later than 30 days after the occurrence of the vacancy.”
The 2022 Electoral Act makes it mandatory for INEC to declare a notice of election 360 days before the conduct of the election.
However, the proposed amendment states that “without prejudice to subsections 1 and 3 above, apart from off- circle elections, all the elections shall hold the same day”.
