The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has asked the National Assembly to fast-track amendments to the electoral legal framework.
Chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, stated this on Thursday in Abuja when he hosted Barry Andrews, Head of the European Union, EU, election observation follow-up mission to Nigeria.
The INEC boss stated that an early passage of the legislation is crucial to the commission’s preparations for the next general election.
“Uncertainty over the legal framework for the election can unsettle the work of the commission as election draws nearer,” he said.
According to him, the commission has reviewed the eight recommendations addressed to it in the EU mission’s report on the 2023 polls.
He noted that in 2019, the EU mission made 30 recommendations, with 11 specifically directed at INEC. Three of them were classified as priorities, while the other eight were general.
Yakubu said the remaining 15 recommendations — five of which were marked as priorities — require action by other institutions in the executive, legislature, judiciary, political parties, and other stakeholders.
“The commission has carefully considered all the eight recommendations specifically addressed to us in your report.
“Action has been taken on aspects of the recommendations that only require administrative action to implement.
“Similarly, action is being taken on cross-cutting recommendations that require collective action between INEC and other bodies and stakeholders while waiting for the conclusion of the ongoing legal review by the national assembly on the recommendations that require legislative intervention,” he said.
On his part, Andrews said the mission’s visit was to assess how far INEC has implemented the recommendations on the 2023 general election.
He said the team also wanted to know the progress made, the concerns that remain, and possible obstacles, particularly around constitutional reform.
“We are very happy to see that there has been significant progress against these recommendations.
“We recognise that there are certain time constraints, both in terms of judicial reform as well as administrative reform,” Andrews said.
