Election petition: Kalu calls for constitutional amendment

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Awa Kalu has called for amendment of both the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010. He made the call in an address at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) workshop on the march towards a culture of peaceful, free and fair elections held recently at Tamara Hall, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. […]

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Awa Kalu has called for amendment of both the 1999 Constitution and Electoral Act 2010.
He made the call in an address at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) workshop on the march towards a culture of peaceful, free and fair elections held recently at Tamara Hall, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
He said that for justice through the courts to prevail for the purpose of building a culture of peaceful, free and fair elections, the constitution as well as the Electoral Act must be amended.
This according to him, is to accommodate a timescale for the holding of all grades of elections so as to prevent the winner of such elections from entering the office that is contested until the hearing and determination of a petition or appeal arising therefrom.
“What this means, is that a level playing field will be created enabling an equilibrium to be maintained between all contestants whether petitioner or respondent.
“The time scale must take into account the need to avoid a vacuum in the office in relation to which the election is contemplated in the first place. Where one of the contestants is also an incumbent, then scrupulous care must be taken in enforcing campaign financing regulations.
“In addition, the expenditure profile of such incumbent campaigner will be scrutinised in order to ensure that not a mite or a dime from public funds is diverted for electioneering purposes”, he said.
“The constitution and all other instruments which regulate the conduct of elections must be adjusted to make it reasonable for a petition to be meaningful.
“Accordingly, it is recommended that a presidential petition ought to be filed within 45 days from the date of the announcement of the result; 30 days for a gubernatorial petition; and 21 days for a petition arising from an election into any legislative house.
“An election petition arising from the presidential election ought to be determined within one calendar year from the date it is filed; a governorship petition 9 months; and other petitions ought to be resolved within 180 days,” he said.