Atiku Accuses Senate of Stalling Electoral Reforms, Warns 2027 Polls at Risk

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has accused the Senate of deliberately frustrating efforts to amend the Electoral Act 2022, warning that continued delays could jeopardise the credibility of the 2027 general elections.

In a statement posted on his X handle on Thursday, the former presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) described loopholes in the current law as a major setback to the 2023 elections, alleging that they opened the door to widespread electoral malpractice and made it extremely difficult for petitioners to prove their cases in court.

“A major setback to the 2023 elections is the loopholes in the Electoral Act 2022 that paved the way for the brazen rigging of that election, and the near-impossibility of petitioners to advance their cases in the courts,” Atiku said.

He stressed that urgent legislative action was needed to prevent a repeat of the challenges witnessed in 2023, insisting that the legal framework guiding the 2027 polls must be reviewed and strengthened.

“It is imperative that if the mistakes of the 2023 election are to be corrected, the legal instrument for the conduct of the 2027 and subsequent future elections needs to be reviewed,” he added.

Atiku further alleged that the Senate was intentionally blocking the passage of proposed amendments to the Act.

“But as things stand, it has become obvious that the Senate is determined to frustrate the passage of amendments to the 2022 Electoral Act,” he said.

Warning of grave consequences, the former vice president said failure to update the law ahead of 2027 would amount to a calculated attempt to compromise the electoral process.

“The credibility of the 2027 general elections hinges on the urgency with which the Senate treats this crucial bill. Anything short of this is a deliberate attempt to rig the election long before the ballots are cast,” he declared.

The Electoral Act 2022, signed into law in February 2022, currently regulates the conduct of elections in Nigeria, while an amendment bill is before the National Assembly to address the shortcomings exposed during the 2023 polls.