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The Leader of the Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, says open voting is a parliamentary global best practice.
Lawan made this known when he featured in News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) flagship programme in Abuja on Thursday.
The lawmaker was reacting to recent calls by some groups, insisting on secret voting for election of presiding officers of the 9th National Assembly.
He said there was nothing contentious in deciding to conduct an open vote.
He stressed that it was global best practice to elect the leadership of presiding officers of the parliament through open voting.
“In fact parliamentarians normally do open voting in all legislative polls. It is a global best practice that open voting is adopted.
“So, I do not think it is a contentious issue; for people to say they will go for secret voting, it is not parliamentary.
“I believe that it is one straight issue that nobody will contest should it come up.
“The Parliament is normally supposed to be the most transparent institution where every opinion, idea or vote is public,” he said.
Lawan pointed out that people were always interested in knowing their constituents’ stance on issues.
He noted that: “When there is a motion or bill, when you contribute, you do not write and throw your view into a box.
“You stand up, say your name, where you are from, who you represent and where you stand on an issue.’’ (NAN)
