The Senate on Tuesday passed the harmonised Clause 84 of the 2010 Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2022, which allows political parties to adopt three modes of primaries.
The proposed legislation, earlier passed last year, was not assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari. The President had cited the provisions of Clause 84, which made direct primary compulsory for all political parties in electing candidates for elections, as his reason for refusing assent to the bill. The two chambers of the National Assembly then recommitted the bill for fresh legislation and added other options, as advised by the president.
The harmonised version accommodated the direct, indirect, and consensus modes of primary election.
The Senate had earlier passed the three modes of primaries, but the version of the House of Representatives did not include the consensus arrangement.
The upper chamber evaluated the harmonised version of the bill at plenary and passed it.
Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, said the bill had given sufficient and clear definition to the modes of primary election now adopted by both chambers of the National Assembly.
