00:00Following a backlash from lawyers and rights groups, Nigeria has scrapped a controversial bill that would have made voting mandatory.
00:09It had proposed a six-month jail term or a $63 fine for eligible voters who failed to cast their ballots.
00:17The bill had sailed through its second reading in Parliament ten days ago.
00:22In recent years, Nigerians have been increasingly reluctant to go vote.
00:26Turnout in national elections has steadily declined, with the 2023 presidential poll recording a 27% turnout, the lowest since the country's 1999 return to democratic rule.
00:39The House of Representatives speaker, who co-sponsored the bill, said it was introduced with the best of intentions.
00:46He said he'd hoped it would bolster civic engagement and strengthen Nigeria's democracy.
00:50But some rights groups described the move as both draconian and unconstitutional,
00:55while lawyers said it would be logistically impossible to prosecute the millions of Nigerians who may decide to boycott polls.
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