A bill that seeks to give candidates the latitude to present polling agents alongside the ones provided by their respective parties during general elections has passed its first reading in the Senate.
The Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2024 (SB. 328) is being sponsored by a two-term Abia state governor and senator representing Abia North Orji Uzor Kalu.
Findings revealed that the bill seeks to amend Section 61 of the 2022 election, which only grants political parties powers to field polling agents on behalf of their candidates at the polling and counting centres.
The amendment to the Electoral Act will enable candidates to also provide polling agents alongside the ones provided by their parties.
According to the explanatory memorandum of the bill, “Section 43 of the Principal Act will be amended by inserting after the amendment of Section 43. Existing subsection “(1)” and a new subsection “(1A)”.
The newly amended section will now read as follows: “(1A) Each candidate, in consultation with his or her political party, may, by notice in writing, addressed to the Resident Electoral Commissioner of the State, appoint a polling agent alongside his or her party’s polling agent for each polling unit and collation centre in the Local Government Area or Area Council for which he or she is a candidate.”
The Leader of the Senate, Opeyemi Bamidele, introduced the bill on Tuesday at plenary, while the Clerk of the Senate, Chinedu Akubueze, read its short title.
It was subsequently passed for the first reading.
ALSO READ THESE TOP STORIES FROM TheWitness
