Nigeria’s National Assembly on Tuesday passed the harmonized version of the Electoral Act Amendment Bill to include provisions which clearly define the mode of primaries for political parties.
Consensus is one the three options introduced in the re-amended Electoral Act Amendment Bill which the Senate passed last week Wednesday.
While the House passed the mode of primaries to be direct and indirect only, the Senate passed the mode of primaries to be direct, indirect and consensus.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who presided over the plenary, stated that both chambers have agreed to give a clear and sufficient definition for each mode of primaries, and how they would be conducted.
He explained that for the consensus method, the two chambers have produced a very clear definition of how a consensus candidate would emerge.
The harmonized version passed by the lawmakers during Tuesday’s plenary, is the final agreed version between the Senate and House of Representatives on the amendment to Clause 84 of the bill.
