The Senate has passed the 2026 Electoral Act Amendment bill, with focus to provide jurisdiction of the court in handling pre-election matters.
The passage followed the presentation of a report by the Committee on INEC by its Chairman Sen. Simon Lalong (APC-Plateau) at the plenary on Thursday.
The proposed amendment aims to address gaps, timelines and court jurisdiction in the resolution of pre-election disputes.
Lalong in his lead debate said the bill sought to address one of the most persistent procedural and constitutional challenges in the nation’s electoral jurisprudence.
According to him, it sought to address the uncertainty, multiplicity and inconsistency associated with the jurisdiction for the determination of pre-election matters.
He said democracy thrives not merely on the conduct of elections, but also on the credibility, certainty and predictability of the legal processes that precede the elections.
“The legitimacy of candidates and the integrity of party primaries are foundational pillars of representative democracy.
“Where the legal framework regulating pre-election disputes is uncertain or conflicting, the entire electoral architecture becomes vulnerable to confusion, forum shopping, contradictory judgments and unnecessary delays,” Lalong said.
He said the bill targets amendments to section 29 of the electoral act and introduces a new section 29A to clearly delineate jurisdictional competence in pre-election matters.
He said in spite of provisions of section 285(14) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, on pre-election matters, the legal system continued to witness conflicting interpretations regarding the appropriate court with jurisdiction to entertain disputes
