News
Reps Reveal Plan To Allow Parties Fill Vacant Seats Without Bye-elections
EKO HOT BLOG reports that a bill for the amendment of the Electoral Act 2022 to allow political parties to nominate candidates to fill a vacant seat if a lawmaker dies or resigns has passed the first reading at the house of representatives.
When a member of the national or state house of assembly resigns or dies, the presiding officer — the senate president or speaker — declares the lawmaker’s seat vacant.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will then organise a by-election for political parties to field candidates to fill the vacant seat.
However, the bill is seeking to allow the political party of the former occupant to nominate a replacement instead of the electoral commission conducting a bye-election.
Akin Alabi, the lawmaker who sponsored the bill, told TheCable on Thursday, that the government would be relieved of the expenses involved in conducting bye-elections when it is passed into law.
Oloye Akin Alabi
Alabi said the act of replacing a lawmaker is practised in the US.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmaker who represents the Egbeda/Ona-Ara federal constituency of Oyo state, said to nominate a successor, a political party may conduct a primary election or follow any other process allowed by law.
He added that the risk of electoral violence and malpractices associated with by-elections would be eliminated if the bill scales through.
However, critics argue that the proposed legislation would disenfranchise voters by denying them the opportunity to choose their representatives.
Click To Watch Our Video Of The Week
Advertise or Publish a Story on EkoHot Blog:
Kindly contact us at [email protected]. Breaking stories should be sent to the above email and substantiated with pictorial evidence.
Citizen journalists will receive a token as data incentive.
Call or Whatsapp: 0803 561 7233, 0703 414 5611
