Amid rising criticisms against the Electoral Act, 2026, particularly by opposition political parties, the Senate defended the law on Sunday, arguing that it came out of a robust engagement between the National Assembly and other stakeholders.
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It denied the view that the new law was passed by legislative fiat and foisted on Nigerians just to protect certain political interests.
The Leader of the Senate, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, who gave the Red Chamber’s stance in an Easter message released by his Directorate of Media and Public Affairs in Abuja, insisted that global legislative best practices were followed by the National Assembly in passing the law.
The Act has generated controversy since it was passed on February 17, the most vexed issue being the refusal to make e-transmission of election results mandatory and without options.
Political parties also queried Section 77(1-7) of the Act, which they claimed was introduced to help the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) glide to power next year while at the same making victory at the polls an Herculean task for the opposition like the African Democratic Congress (ADC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party (LP).
The provisions deal essentially with the steps for the registration and recognition of membership of political parties.
For example, subsection (1) reads” A political party registered under this Act shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal and shall have power to sue and be sued in its corporate name.
Sub-section (2) notes, “The membership register shall be kept in both hard and soft copies at the National, State, Local Government, ward, and polling unit levels, including National Identification Number and photograph
The issue of how to pick candidates for the polls also caused anxiety, as the consensus/direct primaries options only provided in Section 84(1-3) of the Electoral Act did not sit well with many political actors.
But, in disputing the allegation of legislative fiat, Bamidele maintained each part of the law “is informed purely by stakeholders’ consensus and not by legislative fiat.”
“The Act is not a product of legislative fiat, but of consensus reached by all stakeholders including civil society organisations and development partners, among others. Now is the time we must play by the rule and not against it.”
On Easter, he challenged all political leaders and parties “to consciously learn to live by the rules we collectively enacted to ensure peace, order and stability in our political system.”
Bamidele further observed that the National Assembly “has been criticised for introducing a provision that requires each political party to submit a digital register of its members to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) within a stipulated time under Section 77(1-3) of the Electoral Act.
“The provision was not introduced for any self-serving purpose. Rather, it is consistent with the global best practices and aims specifically at building a culture of collegial decision-making that governs party politics worldwide.
“Globally, political parties are founded on clearly defined convictions and persuasions. The persuasions inform the decision of every member whether to join Party X or Party Y. Membership, therefore, is not just a requirement for the party management, but indeed the lifeblood of every political party globally.
“Every member reverses the right to contribute to the decision-making process of his/her party. Such a system requires functional regulations and transparency, hence the need for the introduction of a digital party membership register. The register is to prevent powerful individuals, who are unknown to a political party, from hijacking its decision-making process.”
The Senate leader also explained the rationale behind limiting the procedure for the nomination of candidates by political parties for the various elective positions to direct primaries or consensus under Section 84(1-3) of the Electoral Act.
Bamidele said the provision “is intentional and not self-serving. It aims at ending a delegate system that compromises the interests of the majority and strengthens the arms of the moneybags to hijack the primaries. With the new system, we hope all party members can participate in the nomination of candidates for all elective positions transparently.
“The final decision is now in the hands of party members. It is no longer a process where aspirants openly display cash at the venues of party primaries to compromise delegates. This new reinforces the principle of majority rule, which sits at the heart of democracy,” Bamidele said.
The leader condemned the recent armed attacks in both Plateau and Kaduna States that claimed scores of lives, noting that the parliament “had been working in synergy with federal and state government to put an end to such premeditated armed attacks on vulnerable people.”
He noted, “As an institution that prioritises public interest and seeks collective prosperity, the National Assembly will not fold its arms and allow rogue elements to destroy the Nation we are building for the next generation and positioning for global leadership. We are confident that the end to such criminal acts and killings is already in sight.
“We are synergising with the federal and state governments to address all the forces and triggers that fuel and escalate armed attacks nationwide. This synergy is evident in the ongoing amendment of the 2022 Terrorism (Prevention and Prohibition) Act and other legislative initiatives.
“The National Assembly is working on to ensure stability in the polity and security even in the remotest parts of our Nation. The review promises to institutionalise stiffer measures against kidnappers, their financiers and informants.”
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