BREAKING: Lawmakers Take Action on Bill Requiring President to Secure Over 50% Votes in Election
- The house of representatives has rejected a bill seeking to amend sections 134 and 179 of the constitution
- Legit.ng reports that the sections provide the conditions to be elected president and governor, respectively
- The bill, which sought to make it mandatory for presidential and governorship candidates to secure more than 50 percent of the total votes cast, to be declared winners, was sponsored by Awaji-inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers state)
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering politics and elections.
FCT, Abuja - The house of representatives on Wednesday, February 28, rejected a bill that sought to make it compulsory for presidential and governorship candidates to secure more than 50 percent of the total votes cast, to be declared winners.
As reported by Premium Times, the bill, sponsored by Awaji-inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers), aimed to amend the 1999 constitution by removing the simple majority rule for presidential and governorship candidates.
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The bill had not even been debated when lawmakers roundly rejected it, The Cable noted.
However, even if the house of representatives passed the bill, it would still require a lengthy process to amend the constitution. It would have, among others, required the support of the Senate and approval by houses of assembly in 24 of Nigeria’s 36 states.
Also, if this system had been deployed during the 2023 election, President Bola Tinubu would not have been declared winner of the election in the first ballot, as he did not secure the majority of total votes cast.
Over 90 million voters registered to vote in the 2023 presidential election out of which only 88 million collected the permanent voters cards (PVCs). Of this figure, only 25.2 million voted in the 25 February election.
Tinubu secured about 37 per cent of the total votes cast in the election, a feat that was enough to meet the constitutional requirements.
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Reps move to end presidential system
In a piece of related news, Legit.ng reported that 60 members of the house of representatives proposed a bill seeking the transformation to a parliamentary system of government from the current presidential system.
The bill was presented for first reading in the legislative chamber.
Led by a lawmaker representing Lagos state under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Wale Raji, the lawmakers identified the need for reducing the cost of government, and robust policy debates among others as some of the reasons for demanding a return to the parliamentary system.
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Source: Legit.ng
