Nigerians may go to the polls to elect their next president and governors in November 2010 instead of April 2011 if signals emanating from the Senate and House Committees on the review of the constitution are anything to go by.
The privately-owned Vanguard newspaper reported Tuesday that the polls could be held early following proposals separately articulated by the committees.
The proposals which were presented to the Constitution Review Committees of the two chambers by a joint technical committee also provide stringent criteria for the participation of independent candidates in all classes of elections.
The paper reported that the proposals were to be fast-tracked for passage next month in the two chambers and will include measures to prevent governors and other elected executive office holders at the federal and local government levels from decamping from the political parties that brought them to office.
The Vanguard said that under the proposals, individuals who participate in primaries conducted by political parties would be barred from running as independents.