Just a few months to the 2015 general election, the Senate on Wednesday, June 4, 2014 voted unanimously to the amendment of the 2010 Electoral Act to granting Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the power to deregister any political party that fails to win a seat in National Assembly or State House of Assembly.
The amendment vests the electoral body with powers to deregister political parties which fail to win any of the presidential, governorship, chairmanship of a local government area council, or a seat in the National or states Assemblies.
In the same vein, the upper house voted in support of the extension of time for conducting presidential and governorship elections rerun from seven to 21 days and also conferred the sole prerogative to the Federal High Court to try electoral offences.
The senate also approved the alteration of sections 68 and 109 of the electoral act mandating the clerk of the National Assembly and the clerks of states Houses of Assembly to notify INEC of any vacancy arising from resignation, death or defection of any member.
