The House of Representatives has proposed a 15-year jail term or a minimum of N5 million fine for anyone convicted of vote buying in any election in the country.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, stated this on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Electoral Matters on a bill to establish the National Electoral Offences Commission.
The House also proposing a 20-year jail term or a fine of N40 million for persons convicted of ballot box snatching during elections in the country.
This comes after INEC stressed the need for the prosecution of sponsors of electoral offences in the country, as a means of curtailing the menace.
Yakubu said the electoral body would want to see not just the prosecution of electoral offenders, but also their sponsors, who are usually the beneficiaries of electoral crimes.
He noted that the reform of the country’s electoral system would be incomplete without effective sanctions against those who violate the rules.
According to him, “at present, INEC is saddled with the responsibility of prosecuting electoral offenders under the Electoral Act. This has been very challenging for the Commission. For instance, since the 2015 General Election, 125 cases of electoral offences were filed in various Courts out of which 60 convictions have been secured so far, including the most recent one in Akwa Ibom State.
“The Commission would like to see more successful prosecution of offenders, not just ballot box snatchers, falsifiers of election results and vote buyers at polling units but most importantly, their sponsors. We look forward to the day when highly placed sponsors of thuggery, including high-profile figures that seek to benefit from these violations, are arrested and prosecuted. We believe the work of the proposed Commission will help in this regard.”