The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the Electoral Bill, 2021, into law.
Idayat Hassan, the CDD Director, in a statement, observed that signing the Electoral Bill 2021 into law would represent the most significant legacy of his presidency.
He explained that the proposals in the Electoral Bill 2021 would improve the nation’s electoral system at all levels.
The statement noted, “The next critical step that must be taken is for the assenting into law the Electoral Bill 2021, particularly as we head to two off-cycle elections in Ekiti and Osun states in 2022 and the 2023 general election.”
It added that the direct primary method for candidate selection proposed in the bill would improve internal party democracy by strengthening party membership.
According to the statement, the poor internal processes were largely responsible for the weakness of political parties in Nigeria and had an adverse effect on the country’s governance system.
The Centre explained that with the direct primary election, every registered member of the party would directly determine their candidate.
The CDD believed that it would reduce the floodgates of litigation that usually trailed the idea of consensus or imposition of candidates by political godfathers and party owners.
