Reps reject bill seeking 50% votes to win presidential, gov’ship polls

The House of Representatives yesterday rejected a bill seeking to amend Sections 134 and 179 of the Constitution to include the requirement of securing at least 50% votes to be elected president and governor.

The bill, sponsored by Awaji-inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers), sought to make it mandatory for presidential and governorship candidates to secure more than 50 percent of the total votes cast to be declared winners.

Presenting the bill, Abiante argued that the amendment would provide that a presidential candidate could only be deemed elected after securing the “highest number of votes cast at the election; and they have not less than one-quarter of the votes cast at the election in each of at least two-thirds of all the states in the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja,” as stated in Section 134 of the constitution.

For a governorship candidate, he said the amendment would state that such a person to be declared the winner must secure the highest number of votes cast at the election and have not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the state.

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The proposal sought to change the simple majority rule to a majority; when there are more than two candidates in the race, the winner must secure more than 50 percent of the total votes cast.

However, the lawmakers did not allow Abiante to lead the debate on the bill.

When the speaker, Abbas Tajudeen, put the question of whether the bill should be considered for a second reading before the House, it was rejected by the majority of the lawmakers.