CRIME
House Passes Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill 2025, Rejects Jail Term for Vote-Buying at Party Primaries After Intense Debate
The House of Representatives has passed the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, but decisively rejected a contentious proposal that sought to criminalise vote-buying during party primaries, a move that has sparked renewed debate over internal party democracy and electoral reforms in Nigeria.
The rejected provision had proposed that any person who financially induces a delegate to influence the outcome of party primaries be sentenced to two years’ imprisonment without an option of fine.
According to Clause 89 (4), which was added during the amendment stage, “a person that financially or materially induces a delegate for the purpose of influencing the outcome of the party primaries, congresses and conventions commits an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment of two years without an option of fine.”
Despite the strong wording of the clause, lawmakers overwhelmingly voted against the provision during the clause-by-clause consideration of the bill at the Committee of the Whole, which was presided over by the Deputy Speaker of the House, Benjamin Kalu.
The rejection of the clause effectively removes criminal sanctions for inducement at party primaries from the amendment, leaving issues of financial influence and inducement within political parties to be addressed outside the scope of the revised electoral law for now.
The decision underscores the deep divisions among lawmakers over how far the law should go in regulating internal party processes, particularly at the sensitive stage of primaries, where allegations of vote-buying and delegate inducement have remained persistent concerns in Nigeria’s electoral history.
Meanwhile, following the passage of the bill, the Chairman of the House Committee on Electoral Matters, Adebayo Balogun, briefed National Assembly correspondents and clarified that the House deliberately opted for targeted amendments rather than a wholesale repeal of the Electoral Act 2022. He explained that several far-reaching proposals failed to secure broad legislative consensus.
Balogun said the Electoral Bill 2025 was initially introduced to repeal the 2022 Act and enact a new electoral law, in line with efforts to consolidate gains from recent elections and respond to emerging electoral challenges.
He noted, however, that major proposals contained in the draft bill, including early voting, inmate voting, replacement of the Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) with alternative accreditation mechanisms, and adjustments to electoral timelines, did not enjoy sufficient support at the committee stage.
He said: “In legislative practice, a repeal of an existing law and enactment of a new law is appropriate where the proposed changes fundamentally transform the identity of the principal Act.”
Balogun added that the House introduced additional amendments, underscoring what he described as robust debate and the importance attached to the bill by lawmakers.
According to him, the amendments are designed to strengthen the existing electoral framework, address observed gaps and improve implementation without undermining the stability of the current law.
The lawmaker further assured Nigerians that the committee conducted its work transparently, engaging key stakeholders such as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations, professional bodies and development partners throughout the process.
While acknowledging that some innovative proposals, including punitive measures for vote-buying at party primaries, were not adopted, Balogun said such ideas remain part of the national conversation and could be revisited as consensus evolves.
The passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, therefore marks another significant step in Nigeria’s ongoing electoral reform journey, even as debates continue over how best to curb electoral malpractices and strengthen democratic accountability within political parties.