Presidential Debates: Senate Rejects Proposal By INEC

It was announced this evening that Senate has rejected a proposal by INEC to make presidential debates mandatory during elections

This came as a surprise as i do not know how they want Nigerians decide who will lead them. is it going to be based on who can share more rice or spend more money, or is the process undemocratic?

Read below:

THE Senate, on Thursday, rejected the proposal
which seeks to compel the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) to make presidential
debates mandatory during elections.
The lawmakers rejected the bid during the debate on
the amendments to the Electoral Act 2010, on
Thursday.

The proposal, which was contained in the report of
the Senate Committees on the Review of the 1999
Constitution and the INEC, however, approved the
proposal seeking to fix the tenure of INEC
commissioner

The senators also rejected the bid to have all
national elections held on one day, while they also
rejected the proposal seeking to shift the burden of
proof of electoral irregularities on INEC during
election petitions.

The Senate said the burden of proof of electoral
irregularities during election should be on the
petitioner.

Other proposals rejected by the senators included
that seeking to empower INEC to conduct elections
into the office of the president, governor, Senate,
House of Representatives and state assemblies on
the same day, as well as the proposal seeking to
empower INEC to exclude nominees of a candidate
from elections where a political party fails to comply
with the provisions of the Constitution or Electoral

http://www.tribune.com.ng/news/news-headlines/item/9760-electoral-act-senate-rejects-mandatory-presidential-debate