(3 minutes read)
- Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to approve amendments to the electoral law, particularly the organization of primaries to designate candidates for the presidential election. The presidential elections in Nigeria is scheduled in 2023.
- Buhari said that the proposed amendment was a violation of democracy
- The adoption of direct, open primaries, he said, would significantly increase the cost and insecurity of monitoring elections.
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has refused to approve amendments to the electoral law, particularly the organization of primaries to designate candidates for the presidential election. The presidential elections in Nigeria is scheduled in 2023.
Buhari said that the proposed amendment was a violation of democracy. The adoption of direct, open primaries, he said, would significantly increase the cost and insecurity of monitoring elections. It will also marginalize small political parties, apart from putting additional pressure on the economy and security agencies. Nigeria is already facing a high inflation, he remarked.
Buhari’s letter to Senate was read out by President Ahmed Lawan, in Parliament on Tuesday. Such a large turnout of voters without effective security coordination would also lead to intimidation and disruption, raising credibility concerns about the outcome of these elections.
The amendment also calls for allowing electronic voting to facilitate the collection and transmission of results thereby increasing the transparency of the elections. But in December 2018, Buhari had already refused to approve an amendment to the electoral law that sought to allow electronic voting in the upcoming presidential election, held two months later.
