The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has said the commission is collaborating with the National Assembly for key electoral reforms.
He said these include those requiring amendments to the Constitution and the Electoral Act.
Yakubu announced this while addressing reporters at the State House in Abuja after witnessing the swearing-in of two new National Commissioners of the commission.
The INEC chairman also announced that following a comprehensive review of the 2023 general election, the commission submitted 142 recommendations, of which eight necessitate constitutional or statutory amendments.
“We are working with the National Assembly on electoral reforms. We reviewed the 2023 general election on our own. We engaged with stakeholders and we came out with 142 recommendations. Out of these, eight require constitutional or Electoral Act amendment. We have discussed these with members of the National Assembly,” he said.
According to him, INEC’s discussions with federal lawmakers have been encouraging.
“So far so good, we are happy with our discussions with them. We are also happy with the speed with which they want to proceed so that we have some necessary amendments to the Electoral Act ahead of the 2027 general election,” Yakubu said.
The INEC chairman recalled that two weeks ago, the commission participated in a retreat in Lagos with the joint Senate and House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters.
He said the National Assembly was expected to hold a public hearing before submitting a new Electoral Reform Bill for presidential assent.
But the INEC chairman declined to provide specific details on the planned amendments, saying the National Assembly would make the formal announcements in due course.
