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Both houses of parliament have now adopted the changes making it possible for the poll to be organised as late as April instead of the previously scheduled January date. State parliaments must now approve the measures.
“We have amended the constitution,” senior lawmaker Ita Enang told reporters. “It will now be sent to the state houses of assembly for their concurrence.”
The two chambers had previously approved differing versions of the changes, requiring fresh votes to bring the measures in line with one another.
The electoral commission will set the precise dates for polls, which will also include state and legislative ballots. The presidential election had been set for January 22, with legislative ballots a week before and state polls a week after.
Electoral commission chief Attahiru Jega had raised serious concerns over the limited preparation time in a country known for fraudulent and chaotic ballots.
With the 2007 voters list riddled with false entries, poll organisers will need to overhaul the entire register. The electoral commission expects to begin registering voters sometime in January.
An estimated 70 million Nigerians, or slightly half of the number of people in Africa’s most populous country, are eligible to vote.
The approved changes state that elections should be held not earlier than 150 days nor later than 30 days to the expiration of the tenure of an incumbent government, which in the current case is May 29.
Back in July, the same parliament had approved constitutional amendments for the vote to be moved forward to January.
The stated reason for the initial change was to allow more time for electoral disputes to be settled before the May 29 swearing-in date.
President Goodluck Jonathan, who is running in the election, has pledged a free and fair vote.-AFP
Online Reporter