The Senate passed a bill amending the Election Law

The Senate on Thursday passed the Election Law Amendment Bill 2026, with a focus on giving courts jurisdiction in dealing with pre-election matters.

This piece follows the presentation of the INEC Senate Committee report by its Chairman, Senator Simon Lalong, at a plenary session in Abuja.

The proposed amendments aim to address gaps, time limits and court jurisdiction in resolving election disputes.

Lalong, in his keynote debate said that the bill seeks to address one of the most prevalent procedural and constitutional challenges in election jurisprudence in the country.

According to him, this seeks to overcome the uncertainty, multiplicity and inconsistencies associated with the jurisdiction for determining pre-election issues.

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He said democracy thrives not only on holding elections, but also on the credibility, certainty and predictability of the legal process before the election.

“Candidate legitimacy and the integrity of party primaries are basic pillars of representative democracy.

“When the legal framework governing election disputes is unclear or contradictory, the entire electoral structure becomes vulnerable to confusion, forum shopping, contradictory assessments, and unnecessary delays,” said the former governor of Plateau State.

He said the bill targets amendments to article 29 of the Election Law and introduces a new article 29A which clearly delineates jurisdictional competence in pre-election matters.

He said despite provisions in Article 285(14) of the 1999 Constitution regarding pre-election matters, the legal system still suffers from conflicting interpretations, regarding the appropriate court that has jurisdiction to resolve disputes.