3.2.1 The National Assembly was able to successfully amend some sections of the Nigerian Constitution so as to reflect the yearnings and aspirations of the people. Indeed, this was the first time the Constitution was amended by the representatives of the people since the return to democracy in 1999. 3.2.2 The Nigerian Government, in its commitment to ensure credible and competitive elections, set up the Justice Mohammed Uwais Electoral Reform Panel in 2008. The Report was subsequently forwarded to the National Assembly in March, 2010 by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and many of its recommendations accepted and implemented before the General Elections of 2011. 3.2.3 In March 2011 the President signed into law, an amended Electoral Act to address some of the various challenges identified in the application of previous documents. This guided the conduct of the April 2011 General Elections. 3.2.4 Some of the important highlights of the 2011 Electoral Act are:  the open secret ballot system in which the ballot box must be positioned at a conspicuous location during voting;  The results must be posted in the polling booths;  that votes must be counted and announced at the polling units;  INEC was given the power to de-register parties that failed to win a seat in either the National Assembly or state legislative bodies.  a cap was placed on how much money can be spent on an election campaign: Presidential aspirants- a maximum of N1billion; 21