The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill after the compulsory direct primary clause was revised by the lawmakers. The bill was passed after the removal of clause (84) which required political parties to only select candidates through direct primaries.
Read Also: 2023: Time Running Out For New Electoral Bill, Says INEC It had been reported that the Senate on Wednesday included the consensus mode of primary in the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill as suggested by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Both chambers of the National Assembly, the Senate and the House of Representatives, however, deleted compulsory direct primaries from the bill. While the House gave options of parties adopting direct or indirect primaries, the Senate included direct and indirect primaries as well as the consensus mode as suggested by the President during his interview with Channels Television a few weeks ago. Buhari had last year vetoed the electoral bill and sent it back to the National Assembly over the restriction of political parties to direct primaries.
Source: SaharaReporters