Reps consider bill to establish electoral offences commission

A bill to establish the National Electoral Offences Commission has passed its second reading at the house of representatives.

Speaking at plenary on Thursday, Adebayo Balogun, a lawmaker from Lagos and sponsor of the bill, said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is “overwhelmed” by the burden of handling electoral offences, which undermines the integrity of the electoral process.

“The integrity of our electoral system continues to be challenged by many factors, including vote buying,” he said.

“So, it is important that we have a commission separate from INEC solely in charge of prosecuting electoral offenders.”

Lawmakers supported the bill when Tajudeen Abbas, the house speaker, subjected it to a voice vote.

The bill had failed to scale through in the 9th assembly.

The bill must pass through the committee stage, public hearings, and concurrence with the senate before it would be transmitted to the president for assent.