President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected the direct primaries clause in the electoral bill recently passed by the National Assembly.
According to the PUNCH newspaper, the president has written to the National Assembly, asking them to remove the controversial clause in the Amendment Electoral Act.
The bill, which was forwarded to the president for assent on November 19, 2021, has generated a lot of reactions in the country.
Many state governors, including the Attorney General of the Federation, have advised the president to reject the provision of the law.
The president has finally agreed with the antagonists of the bill and returned it to the lawmakers for amendment. These are three major reasons why President Buhari also rejected the bill. They include:
1. The mandatory direct primaries clause in the bill is unconstitutional.
The Minister for Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, had earlier advised Buhari to reject the bill, describing it as unconstitutional.
The mandatory direct primaries are against the political parties’ constitutions. Each party has its own mode of primary and it is unconstitutional for the national assembly to impose it on them.
It was on this basis that President Buhari rejected the bill.
2. Direct primary is too expensive to run for political parties.
The mandatory direct primaries clause will make political parties spend a lot. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had earlier said that political parties would bear the cost of primary elections.
The president argued that small parties will be marginalized if mandatory direct primaries are enforced.
3. A direct primary election is not feasible at this time due to insecurity.
One of the reasons why the president rejected the controversial clause was insecurity. It was argued that direct primaries could lead to confusion and chaos in the country.
All members of political parties are qualified to participate in the selection process, and that might not be feasible at the time due to insecurity.
