Senate Moves to Shift Burden of Proof to INEC in New Electoral Reform Bill

|By Chinwendu Nwani

The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday advanced a major electoral reform, passing for second reading a bill to repeal the 2022 Electoral Act and enact a new 2025 Electoral Act — proposing a controversial shift of the burden of proof in election disputes from petitioners to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Under the current legal framework, any candidate challenging an election must prove irregularities — a rule anchored on the Evidence Act’s principle that “he who asserts must prove.” But lawmakers are now backing a reversal that would compel INEC, as the organiser and supervisor of elections, to defend the credibility of its own process in court.

Leading the argument, Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West) said placing the legal burden on citizens undermines electoral justice, insisting that INEC — which conducts, collates and announces poll results — must prove it followed the law. He described the reform as “critical to restoring public trust,” while urging wider reforms including full deployment of technology and stricter regulation of political parties.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio endorsed Dickson’s position, agreeing that INEC must be held accountable in all post-election litigation. “INEC is responsible for the conduct and logistics of elections — it is in the best position to carry the burden of proof,” he declared.

Beyond litigation reform, lawmakers also pushed fresh amendments on party primaries and political defections. Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) demanded that all elected office holders automatically qualify as delegates at party primaries, while Senator Muntari Dandutse (APC, Katsina South) proposed that politicians who defect from their sponsoring party should automatically lose their seats — a move he said would protect the dignity of Nigeria’s multiparty democracy.

The bill now proceeds to the committee stage for further legislative work.