The Federal Executive Council has approved the use of three legal instruments being part of recommendations of the Electoral Reforms Committee.
To this end, the Federal Government is setting up an electoral offences commission and tribunal in order to check the spate of electoral offences in the country.
This and other decisions were reached at this week’s council meeting in Abuja.
The Electoral Reforms Committee was put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari under the chairmanshipof former Senate President Ken Nnamani to take a look at how to strengthen the electoral process by addressing noticeable flaws.
Three executive bills were approved by Council from its recommendations, these are the electoral offences commission and Tribunal establishment bill, Electoral Act Amendment bill twenty eighteen and Constitutional alteration bill.
These bills will be drafted and forwarded to the National Assembly for passage.
These bills are expected to introduce stiff penalties for electoral offences which in the past had been committed with impunity, such as ballot box snatching, violence, alteration of results, multiple thumb printing and of recent, vote buying
