Ahead of June 12 celebration, CSO tasks Buhari, NASS on electoral reform 

A civil society organization, Centre for Liberty, on Thursday urged President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Assembly to use this year’s Democracy Day celebration to recommit to electoral reforms.

In a statement issued by its Co-conveners, Ariyo-Dare Atoye and Adebayo Raphael, CFL said without enduring electoral reforms that could guarantee better elections like the June 12, 1993, presidential election, marking the day “would amount to an exercise in futility.”

It also advised the National Assembly to commence the process of amending the Electoral Act to address the deficit in the electoral process.

The CFL said: “We appeal to the president to use the occasion of June 12, 2020, to recommit to an enduring electoral reform by tasking the National Assembly on the timely passage of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill, 2019, currently before the Senate, and to equally pledge his immediate assent to the act, once it is transmitted.

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“As a matter of commitment, this is the time for the ninth National Assembly to learn from the painful impasse that occurred between the executive and the eighth legislative session over similar proposed legislation, and ensure that this bill is passed this year.”

The group also urged political parties, election observer groups, international monitors, civil societies, the media, and every concerned stakeholder to re-launch a fervent demand for electoral reforms and the passage of the Electoral Act amendment bill.

It added: “Countries with credible electoral processes seem to be better governed the world over; so, therefore, there is a direct correlation between the quality of the electoral process that can guarantee credible recruitment process for leadership and good governance.”

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