Senate And Reps Agree On New Order For 2019 Elections

National Assembly Complex (File Photo)

The joint committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives on Electoral Act Amendment Bill have agreed to change the sequencing of general elections in the country.

The implication of the action by the committee is that the presidential elections would be held last.

With the new order, the National Assembly elections to be conducted first, followed by state Houses of Assembly and governorship elections, then rounded off by the presidential election.

The amendment as agreed upon by the two committees of the National Assembly, would now be adopted by both chambers before transmission to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent.

The conference committee also voted on the sequencing and timing for the conduct of primaries of political parties.

The amendment specifies: “The primaries of political parties shall follow the following sequence: (i) State Houses of Assembly (ii) National Assembly (iii) Governorship, and (iv) Presidential.

“The dates for the above-stated primaries shall not be held earlier than 120 days and not later than 90 days before the date of elections to the offices.”

The co-chairman of the conference committee, Hon. Edward Pwajok, responding to questions from newsmen, said the harmonised bill would be presented to both legislative chambers for adoption.

“From here, we are going to consider other items that need concurrence where there are differences between the Senate’s version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and the House’s version.
“When we harmonise all the areas of differences between the Senate and the House, then we will report progress to both chambers.

“It is expected that when we concur, the Senate would sit and vote in support and the House would also sit and concur. After the concurrence (by both chambers), we will send the harmonised bill to Mr. President for his assent,” Pwajok said.

The proposed amendment comes days after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), released the election timetable for the 2019 general elections in the country.

With this development, the INEC timetable for the 2019 elections may also have to be re-organized.