The Senate is considering an amendment to the Electoral Act 2022 that will shift the burden of proof in election petition cases from the petitioner to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
This was one of the key highlights in the debate on the ongoing review of the Electoral Act at the Senate on Wednesday.
The senator representing Bayelsa West, Seriake Dickson, was able to sway his colleagues with the argument that INEC, being the custodian of all electoral materials, should bear the burden of proof in election dispute cases.
Dickson urged the joint Electoral Review Committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives to effect the change in the existing law.
“The burden of proof in electoral matters must shift from the litigant to INEC. That is where the left and right pockets belong. The dictum that he who alleges must prove should not apply in this very matter.
“How can we prove something we don’t even know? INEC is the electoral body that appraises parties and their candidates. It’s the body that can prove that elections have been conducted peacefully and in accordance with the law,” Dickson said.
Describing as unfair, the provision in the current Act that compels litigants to prove allegations of electoral irregularities, the Bayelsa senator said the rule stagnates the process.
Urging his colleagues to take a dispassionate look at the provision, Dickson said, “If there is one major achievement we must secure in this 10th Senate, it should be meaningful electoral reform.
“We have the opportunity to modernise our system by authorising INEC to deploy more technology and back that authorisation with adequate funding.
“Our political parties are among the greatest challenges to our democracy. We must find ways to regulate and control party behaviour so democratic norms are strengthened.
“Critically, the burden of proof in electoral disputes must be reformed. Electoral matters are sui generis and require special treatment.
“INEC conducts elections, appoints ad – hoc officials, collates and announces results. It should therefore bear the primary burden of proving that elections were conducted peacefully and in accordance with the law. We should reflect this change in the Electoral Act”.
Many of the senators that contributed to the debate, including the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, aligned with Dickson’s position.
Akpabio emphasised the point by saying that INEC must be responsible for electoral litigations.
Akpabio said, “I agree with Senator Dickson and other senators who have called for shifting of burden of proof in electoral litigations from litigants to INEC being the organiser and supervisor of elections.
“INEC obviously must be held responsible, because it is the one responsible for the conduct of elections, logistics for the elections, so should in the best pisition to carry the burden of proof in litigations.”
The debate also touched on other issues, with some of the lawmakers calling for a review of who should be eligible to vote as delegates in political party primaries.
Senator Abdul Ningi, who represents Bauchi Central, urged called for the inclusion of elected political office holders as eligible delegates for party primaries.
Some senators also called for a review of the rules guiding the defection of lawmakers from the parties that sponsored their election to other parties while still retaining their seats.
Katsina South senator, Muntari Dandutse, argued that such defectors must be made to lose their seats upon defection.
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