House of Representatives Rejects Bill to Amend Presidential and Governorship Election Conditions

The House of Representatives has rejected a bill seeking to amend sections 134 and 179 of the constitution, which define the conditions for the election of the president and governors, respectively. The bill, sponsored by Awaji-inombek Abiante of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Rivers State, aimed to make it mandatory for presidential and governorship candidates to secure more than 50 percent of the total votes cast to be declared winners.

Presenting the bill, Abiante proposed amending the sections of the constitution that outline the conditions for presidential and governorship elections. Currently, the constitution stipulates that a presidential candidate must secure the highest number of votes cast at the election and have not less than one-quarter of the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Similarly, a governorship candidate must meet similar criteria at the state level.

Abiante’s proposal sought to change the requirement from a simple majority to a majority of more than 50 percent of the total votes cast, particularly in scenarios where there are more than two candidates in the race. The bill aimed to address situations like the 2023 presidential election, where the winner, Bola Tinubu, emerged without securing the majority of the total votes cast.

However, during the consideration of the bill, the lawmakers did not allow Abiante to lead the debate, and when the question was put forward by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen for the bill to be considered for a second reading, the opposition to the bill was evident. The majority of the voices against the bill drowned out those in favor, leading to the Speaker ruling in favor of those who wanted the motion thrown out.

As a result, the bill seeking to amend the conditions for presidential and governorship elections was rejected by the House of Representatives.