Weak parties must go –Senate

• Ex-Senate presidents, speakers to join Council of State A fresh amendment of the 1999 Constitution yesterday em­powered the Independent National Electoral Commis­sion (INEC) to deregister any political party which fails to win, at least, a seat in any state House of Assembly. The Upper Chamber also approved Clause Eight of the Constitution which also seeks to alter the Third Schedule to include former Senate Presidents and Speakers of the House of Representatives as members of the Council of State. The Senate took the decision amid a mild drama from senators who demanded postponement of the vote to enable members study the document before deciding on the proposed clauses for amendment. Senate President David Mark, however, convinced his colleagues on the need to go ahead with the vote which saw the chamber amending the Electoral Act, 2010 especially on INEC’s management of political parties and elections. Efforts by the electoral body to get legal or constitutional powers to axe non-performing parties in the past were frustrated through litigations. All the 89 senators who participated in the voting supported Clause 6 of the amended law empowering INEC to de-register any political party which fails to win presidential, governorship, chairmanship of a local government area, or a seat in National or state Assembly elections. Senate also approved Clauses six and seven which alter Sections 68 and 109 to mandate the Clerk to the National Assembly and the Clerks of state Houses of Assembly to notify the INEC of any vacancy. Specifically, the clerks are expected to write within seven days of the existence of a vacancy arising from death, resignation or defection of a member of the National Assembly or a member of the state House of Assembly respectively. Senators also voted in support of Clauses four and five which also seek to alter Sections 134 and 179 that relate with the extension of the time for conducting presidential and governorship re-run election. The clauses prescribed the extension from seven to 21 days after results have been announced. The chamber equally voted in support of Clause seven which deals with the conferment of exclusive jurisdiction on the Federal High Court for the trial of electoral offences. With the Senate approval, Federal High Courts would be solely responsible for the trial of offences arising from, pertaining to or connected to the violation of the provisions of the Electoral Act and any other election related act of the National Assembly. The chamber, however, deferred voting on amendments to Section 9 (3) (a) which stipulates how a new Constitution can be drafted. Senate spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, told reporters after the session that the chamber would have to amend section 9 because the initial amendment done with two-thirds of the chamber actually required four-fifth as stipulated by the Constitution. A conference committee with the House of Representatives has been constituted while the Senate will conclude voting on section 9 of the 1999 Constitution today.