New Electoral Act is recipe for chaos – BMO

The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has said that the new Electoral Act Amendment Bill is a recipe for chaos.

The BMO in a statement signed by its Chairman, Niyi Akinsiju, and Secretary, Cassidy Madueke, said President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to withhold assent to the Electoral Act Amendment Bill as forwarded to him by the National Assembly is in the best interest of Nigeria’s democracy.

The group said the decision had saved the country from a chaotic electoral process.

“It is trite that the deployment of a new electoral law only two months to an election is a recipe for chaos. Introducing a new law that redefines fundamentally the processes of our elections is only setting a shaky foundation for the 2019 polls.

“Also, with such fundamental changes such as the introduction of electronic transmission of results, and the compulsion in the use of the card reader without any remedy, among others, INEC staff would have to be trained and re-trained within two months, a period that is certainly not enough for that to happen,” BMO said.

The group said an ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance discouraged any forms of amendments or changes to electoral laws six months before any election and hailed the President for complying with democratic best practices.

It added that it was no fault of President Buhari that the leadership of the National Assembly delayed the amendment since mid 2017.

The group also said that the most recent amendment that the National Assembly sent to the President was not just late but also contained grave drafting errors that if left to proceed would give room for rigging and manipulation of the results of elections.

BMO said any attempt by some desperate unpatriotic federal lawmakers to override the President’s veto would amount to a battle line being drawn between them and the Nigerian people and their right to free and fair elections.

It called on those it called ‘sensible members of the National Assembly’ to prevail and ensure that the electoral processes were not toyed with for the self-serving interests of some of their colleagues; but rather ensure that the errors identified by President Buhari are looked into, rectified and sent back for his assent.