Posted by By Emmanuel Aziken, Ben Agande, Ayodele Adegbuyi & Andrew Oota on
THE Senate passed, yesterday, the 2005 Electoral Bill ahead of next year's election.
ABUJA - THE Senate passed, yesterday, the 2005 Electoral Bill ahead of next year's election. The Senate, in the bill, pegged individual financial contribution to any of the parties at N10 million and said its objective in passing the bill the way it did was to provide a level playing ground for all the political parties and usher in a healthier and less cantankerous electoral process.
A last minute rally by female Senators to ban the use of masquerades during electioneering campaigns received some qualified success when the Senate agreed that masquerades should not be used to intimidate opposition candidates.
The Electoral Bill was presented by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to the Senate in 2004 and was the subject of a public hearing presided over by the Senate Committee on INEC then chaired by Senator David Brigidi last year.
In its final deliberation on the bill yesterday, the Senate in a Committee of the whole agreed to leave section 96(1) of the bill which provides a N10 million limit on individual contributions to a political party. The Senate action came against strong objections to the N10 million limit by Senators Farouk Bello (ANPP, Kebbi), Uche Chukwumerije (PDP, Abia North) and Idris Kuta (PDP, Niger) who argued that such a high amount would make contributors with high donations to take possession of the parties.
Senators Udoma Udo Udoma and Patrick Osakwe argued for raising the benchmark to N10 million on the argument that N2 million had become of little value in the running of a political party. Senator Ike Ekweremadu (PDP, Enugu West) sought a middle course by seeking to allow INEC to vary the limit based on economic conditions, but his point was not accepted.
Following the assurance by Senator Brigidi that individual donation would not make anyone dominate a party, a voice vote was taken with Senators in support of N10 million winning the vote.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the Senate session, Senator Udoma, a member of the Senate Committee on Media and Publicity said: 'Today was a milestone date for the Senate. The Electoral Bill which, for the last three or four weeks, the Senate has been deliberating upon was finally passed by the Senate."
On the decision of INEC to forge ahead with the use of the electronic voting system despite the ban imposed by the new Electoral Bill as passed by the Senate, Senator Udoma said: 'The function of the National Assembly is to make laws, and once we have made the law, our responsibility ceases and once we have made the law it is for everybody to obey."
Reps okay N500m
On its part, the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters recommended that no presidential candidate shall spend more than N500, 000,000 on his campaign. This amount is against the N50 million in the Electoral Act.
The committee also recommended that no single individual should donate more than N20 million to a political party or more than N100,000 to an individual for an election.