PART IX—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
141. No person holding an elective office to which this Act relates or a registered member of a political party shall be eligible for or be appointed to carry out the duties of a returning officer, an electoral officer, presiding officer or a poll clerk, and any officer appointed to carry out any of those duties shall be ineligible for nomination as a candidate for election while he or she continues to hold such appointment.
142.—(1) The Commission may prescribe a scale of —
(a) remuneration for officers appointed under this Act for the conduct of elections ; and
(b) maximum charges in respect of other expenses incurred by an electoral officer, a presiding officer or a returning officer in connection with an election, and may revise the scale as it thinks fit or expedient.
(2) An electoral officer, presiding officer, or returning officer shall, in addition to any remuneration prescribed under subsection (1) (a), be entitled to such sums in respect of expenses not exceeding the prescribed scale, in connection with the conduct of an election as are reasonable.
(3) The Commission may pay such honoraria as it may determine to all other persons and officers who may be involved in one way or the other in conducting an election under this Act, or in carrying out any task in connection with an election or election petition arising therefrom.
(4) All fees and other remunerations approved under subsection (1) shall be paid from the Fund established under section 3 (1) of this Act and shall be paid in such manner as the Commission deems fit.
143. No person who has voted in any election under this Act shall, in any legal proceedings arising out of the election, be required to say for whom he or she voted.
144. The Commission shall consider any recommendation made to it by a tribunal with respect to the prosecution by it of any person for an offence disclosed in any election petition.
145.—(1) An offence committed under this Act shall be triable in a Magistrate Court or a High Court of a State in which the offence is committed, or the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
(2) A prosecution under this Act shall be undertaken by legal officers of the Commission or any legal practitioner appointed by it.
146.—(1) An order for inspection of a polling document or any other document or packet in the custody of the Chief National Electoral Commissioner or any other officer of the Commission may be made by an Election Tribunal or a Court of competent jurisdiction if it is satisfied that the order required is for the purpose of instituting, maintaining or defending an election petition.
(2) A document other than a document referred to in subsection (1) relating to an election and which is retained by the Chief National Electoral Commissioner or any other officer of the Commission in accordance with this section shall be open for inspection on an order made by the Election Tribunal or the Court in exercise of its powers to compel the production of documents in legal proceedings.
(3) Where there is a breach of an order of the Election Tribunal or the Court directed at the Commission, particularly order to produce, inspect or take copies of electoral documents or materials, the Commission shall first be summoned to show cause why it cannot comply with the order to establish disobedience before it can be deemed to have disobeyed the order.
(4) Such disobedience where established, shall attract court sanctions, which shall include the committal by the Tribunal or Court of the Commission’s official to whom the order is directed to summary conviction to imprisonment for at least two years, without an option of fine.
147. Without prejudice to other provisions of this Act, the Commission may delegate any of its powers and functions to any National Electoral Commissioner, Resident Electoral Commissioner, electoral officer, any other officer of the Commission or any other officer appointed under the provision of this Act subject to any conditions or limitations which it may consider necessary or expedient to impose and no such delegation shall be construed to limit the right of the Commission to exercise such power, itself.
148. The Commission may, subject to the provisions of this Act, issue regulations, guidelines, or manuals for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Act and for its administration.
149. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act, any defect or error arising from any actions taken by an official of the Commission in relation to any notice, form or document made or given or other things done by the official in pursuance of the provisions of the Constitution or of this Act, or any rules made thereunder remain valid, unless otherwise challenged and declared invalid by a competent court of law or tribunal.
150.—(1) In furtherance of the provision of paragraph 11 of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Constitution, the procedure regulating elections conducted by the Commission to Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory under this Act shall be the same and apply with equal force as the procedure regulating elections conducted to Local Government Areas by any State Commission.
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1), a State Commission shall be deemed to have and exercise the powers of the Commission in respect of the procedure regulating elections to Area Councils under this Act.
(3) Any election to a Local Government Area that is conducted by a State Commission in violation of subsection (1) shall be invalid.
(4) Any official of a State Commission who contravenes the provision of subsection (1) commits an offence and shall be subject to prosecution as if he were an official of the Commission who committed the same offence under this Act.
151. The Electoral Act No. 6, 2010 is repealed.
152. In this Act—
“Area Council” means Area Councils recognised and existing by virtue of section 3 (6) of the Constitution and as set out in Part II of the First Schedule thereof and any additional Area Council provided by an Act of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution ;
“appointment” includes appointment to an office, confirmation of appointment, promotion or transfer ;
“aspirant” means a person who aspires or seeks or strives to contest an election to a political office ;
“association” means a body of persons (corporate or otherwise) who agree to act together for any common purpose and includes an association formed for any ethnic, social, cultural, occupational or religious purpose ;
“Attorney-General of the Federation” means the Chief Law Officer of the Federation ;
“Area Councils” means Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory ; “authority” includes government or government agency and corporate bodies ;
“campaigning in public” referred to in section 95 means the campaign that commences after the publication of the notice of election by the Commission under section 28 of this Act ;
“candidate” means a person who has secured the nomination of a political party to contest an election for any elective office ;
“Chief Electoral Commissioner” means the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission ;
“civil servant” means a person employed in the civil service of the Federation or of a State or Local government as contained in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 ;
“Clerk” means the Clerk of the National Assembly, Clerk of the State House of Assembly, and Clerk of the Legislative House of the Local Government or Area Council or any person acting in that capacity ;
“Commission” means the Independent National Electoral Commission established by the Constitution ;
“Constitution” means the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 ;
“conviction” means a pronouncement by a court or tribunal that a person is guilty of an offence under this Act or under the provisions of the Constitution whether or not any punishment is imposed on the person as a result of the conviction and includes admission by a person in writing, verbally, or by conduct that he is guilty, or has committed or aided and abetted the commission of the offence or crime concerned ;
“conduct” referred to in the latter is, for instance, where a person reimburses the sums of money or any parts of it obtained through corrupt practice in order to avoid prosecution ;
“decision” means in relation to court or tribunal, any determination of that court or tribunal and includes a judgment, decree, conviction, sentence, order or recommendation ;
“direct primaries” means an election at which candidates for elective office are chosen by direct vote of political party members instead of by delegates at a convention or congress ;
“election” means any election held under this Act and includes a referendum ;
“electoral officer” means a staff of the Commission who is the head of the Commission’s office at a Local Government Area or Area Council level ;
“electronic format” refers to the electronic version of the Register of Voters or National Electronic Register of Election Results, as the case may be, created, recorded, transmitted or stored in digital form or in other intangible forms by electronic, magnetic or optical means or by any other means that has capabilities for creation, recording, transmission or storage similar to those means and which may be converted to or reproduced in a paper document ;
“Federation” means the Federal Republic of Nigeria ; “function” includes powers and duties ;
“general election” means an election held in the Federation at large which may be at all levels, and at regular intervals to select officers to serve after the expiration of the full terms of their predecessors ;
“Government” includes the Government of the Federation, a State, Local Government Area or Area Council, or any person or organ exercising power or authority on its behalf ;
“House” or “Legislative House” means the Senate, House of Representatives, House of Assembly of a State and includes the Legislative House of a Local Government Area or Area Council ;
“leader of an association” means every person holding an executive position in that association, including in particular, the Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer of the association and every member of its committee management, however described ;
“leader of a political party” means every person holding an executive position in that political party, including in particular, the Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer of the political party and every member of its committee of management, however described ;
“legal incapacity” means a person disqualified under the Constitution or thisActor any other law, rules and regulations from registering as a voter or from contesting elections ;
“Local Government” means Local Government recognised and existing by section 3(6) of the Constitution and set out in Parts I and II of the First Schedule and any additional Local Government provided for by an Act of the National Assembly in accordance with section 8 (5) of the Constitution ;
“National Assembly” means the Senate and the House of Representatives ;
“number of accredited voters” means number of intending voters accredited to vote in an election ;
“offensive weapon or missile” includes any cannon, gun, rifle, carbine, revolver, pistol or any other firearm, bow and arrow, spear, cutlass, knife, dagger, axe, cudgel, or any other thing capable of being used as an offensive weapon or missile, including teargas, acid, and any inflammable substance capable of injuring a person ;
“office” or “public office” means any of the offices the occupation to which is by election or appointment under this Act ;
“person with disability” means—
(a) a person who has received temporary or permanent Certificate of Disability to a have condition which is expected to continue permanently or for a considerable length of time which can reasonably be expected to limit the person’s functional ability substantially, but not limited to seeing, hearing, thinking, ambulating, climbing, descending, lifting, grasping, rising and includes any related function or any limitation due to weakness or significantly decreased endurance so that it cannot perform his everyday routine, leaving and working without significantly increased hardship and vulnerability to everyday obstacles and hazards ; and
(b) a person with long time physical, mental, intellectual, or sensory impairment which interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society ons equal basis with others ; “person with special needs” means a person who requires assistance
for disabilities that may be medical, mental, emotional, physical or psychological ;
“petition” means an election petition under this Act ;
“polling agent” means a person representing a political party or its candidate at the polling unit, ward, Local Government, Federal constituency, Senatorial district, State or Federal collation centres ;
“polling unit” means the place, enclosure, booth, shade or house at which voting takes place under this Act ;
“political party” includes any association of persons whose activities includes canvassing for votes in support of a candidate for election under this Act and registered by the Commission ;
“powers” includes functions and duties ;
“President” means the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria ; “Presiding Officer” means a person appointed by the Commission to
be in charge of the conduct of election in a polling unit or polling station, and this shall include persons who may be under different titles but who are charged by the Commission with the same responsibilities at a polling unit or polling station as a Presiding officer ;
“primaries” or “primary election” mean intra-party election by voters of a given political party to nominate candidates for elective office in accordance with a political party’s constitution and the law ;
“Registrar” includes Chief Registrar, Deputy Chief Registrar and Registrar of other grades of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, Federal High Court and the High Court of a State ;
“Registration Officer” includes supervisory assistant registration officer and assistant registration officer ;
“Resident Electoral Commissioner” means the Commissioner deployed for the time being to a State ;
“return” means the declaration by a returning officer of a candidate in an election under this Act as being the winner of that election ;
“returning officer” means a person appointed by the Commission to be in charge of the conduct of election in a constituency, and this includes persons who may be under different titles but who are charged by the Commission with the same responsibilities in a constituency as a Returning Officer ;
“school certificate” has the meaning as defined in the Constitution ; “secret society” has the meaning as defined in the Constitution ; “State” when used otherwise than in reference to one of the component
parts of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall include government of a State and all references in this Act to a State in the Federation shall, where appropriate, be deemed to include references to the Federal Capital Territory ;
“State Commission” means State Independent Electoral Commission created under section 197 of the Constitution ;
“vulnerable person” means a woman, child or person living under extreme poverty, person with disability, the sick and the elderly, refugee, internally displaced person, migrant, person in detention or ethnic and religious minority groups ; and
“ward collation officer” means registration area Collation Officer.
153. This Act may be cited as the Electoral Act, 2022.
