Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday signed the reworked Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2022 after many years of back and forth.
The new law will empower the Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deploy technological solutions for elections in the country.
The Electoral Act 2022 which replaces the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) constitutes the principal law to govern the conduct of future elections, including the 2023 poll.
Meanwhile, there are concerns that the new law will bring little succour to the electoral process as Nigerian politicians are notorious for manipulating the system, including vote buying, thuggery and ballot box snatching.
If there are no attitudinal changes, the country may continue to relieve the experience of incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari who literarily slept in the courts to challenge his election loss in 2011, as presidential candidate of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).
Many political office holders have lost elections during announcement of election results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but later got justice from courts.
President Buhari had signed the new law with some reservations.
He had noted that Section 84(12) of the bill states that “No political appointee at any level shall be voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election”.
He added, “Section 84 (12) constitutes a disenfranchisement of serving political office holders from voting or being voted for at Conventions or Congresses of any political party, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election in cases where it holds earlier than 30 days to the National Election.”
Without guarantees to attitudinal change, its doubtful that the much anticipated credible elections will materialize.
Nigeria’s Chief Justice, Justice Tanko Muhammad, has resigned.
Sources confirmed that Justice Muhammad resigned on Sunday night, citing ill-health as the reason for his decision.
Hint of potential crises in Nigeria’s judiciary played out last week when fourteen Justices of the Supreme Court wrote to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Tanko Muhammad, lamenting the parlous state of affairs in the court.
The petition is the first-of-its-kind in the 58-year history of the apex court, the justices chronicled the operational challenges that have almost crippled the efficient adjudication of cases at the court.
Arrangements are said to be ongoing to swear in the next most senior justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, as the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria.
President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 suspended Justice Tanko’s predecessor Chief Justice, Walter Onnoghen, 15 days after allegations of impropriety were lodged against the most senior judge in the country. It was the first time that Nigeria’s head of state had sacked a chief justice since 1975, when the country was under military rule.
Southern African Zimbabwe has continued with lobbying for readmission 18 years after it was thrown out of the body over allegations of human rights abuses.
The country made its latest move to be readmitted at the ongoing Commonwealth summit in Rwanda.
Zimbabwe’s ambassador to Rwanda Charity Manyeruke, who is attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali as an observer alongside other top government officials, told newsmen that the country’s participation at the summit was a “positive development.”
“Zimbabwe is excited to be participating in Commonwealth forums as this presents opportunities to network with the international community taking into account the government of Zimbabwe’s policy of engagement and reengagement,” Ms Manyeruke said.
“The Commonwealth meeting in Kigali has provided opportunities for our Zimbabwean diaspora across the globe, who are participating as panellists, facilitators and as delegates in the forums.
Zimbabwe was first suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth for one year, after international observers condemned disputed presidential election as unfairly tilted toward Robert Mugabe in 2022.
One year after the suspension, Mr Mugabe revealed that he did not accept a Commonwealth decision to prolong Zimbabwe’s suspension from the group until the country mended its ways.
“Accordingly, Zimbabwe has withdrawn its membership from the Commonwealth with immediate effect,” said a government statement.
Zimbabwe’s Foreign Affairs deputy minister David Musabayana said he had held meetings with influential people to discuss the country’s potential readmission.