The House of Representatives has rejected a bill proposed by Awaji-inombek Abiante (PDP, Rivers) aimed at amending sections 134 and 179 of the constitution regarding the election of the president and governor, respectively.
The bill sought to make it compulsory for presidential and governorship candidates to secure over 50 percent of total votes cast to be declared winners. It aimed to replace the current simple majority rule.
Under the current constitution, a presidential candidate must secure the highest number of votes and have at least one-quarter of votes in two-thirds of all states and the FCT, while a governorship candidate must have the highest number of votes and one-quarter of votes in two-thirds of all local government areas.
Abiante’s proposal aimed to change this to require candidates to secure more than 50 percent of total votes cast. This was prompted by the scenario in the 2023 presidential election where Bola Tinubu won without securing the majority of total votes cast.
However, when the bill was presented for debate, the lawmakers did not allow Abiante to lead it. During the vote, the “nays” outweighed the “ayes,” leading to the rejection of the bill by the House.