2023: Fear Grips APC, PDP as INEC Gives Final Verdict on Presidential, Governorship Primaries
- The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has sent an important message to political parties in the country
- Ahead of the 2023 general election, INEC insisted any primaries conducted after June 3rd, would be rejected
- The Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC made this disclosure during a one-day Media/Civil Societies Organisations, roundtable on the 2022 Electoral Act organised by the commission in Delta state
On Wednesday, May 11, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in Delta state, Mr Monday Udoh-Tom, said the commission would not accept the outcome of primary elections conducted by any political party after June 3, 2023.
The commission said it will not accept the outcome of such primaries, noting that provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act would be observed to the letter in the prosecution of the 2023 general elections, Vanguard reports.
Source: Facebook
Udoh-Tom at a one-day Media/Civil Societies Organisations, CSOs, roundtable on the 2022 Electoral Act organised by the commission in collaboration with Transition Monitoring Group, (TMG), and Delta State Civil Society Forum (DENGOF) at its headquarters in Asaba, Delta state, said the resolve to keep to the 2022 Electoral Act, “once again sign-posts the commitment to bring some measure of certainty and sanity into the nation’s electoral calendar.”
The Electoral Act as a guide for the 2023 election
He explained that the Act was an important piece enacted to improve the legal framework for the conduct of the 2023 general election, and for the overall benefit of the electoral process.
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Udoh-Tom said:
“The operationalisation of the Act began in earnest, with the publication of notice of election, by the commission on February 28, 2022, in line with section 28(1) , which inter-alia provides that, ‘the commission shall, not later than 360 days before the day appointed for holding of an election under this Act, publish a notice in each state of the Federation and the Capital Territory-(a) Stating the date of the election; and (b) Appointing the place at which nomination papers are to be delivered.
“Consequently, other timeline activities have since followed, including on-going party congresses and primaries, for the nomination of candidates, in which Section 29(1-8) provides for the list of candidates to be submitted to the commission by political parties, 180 days before the 2023 general election, and in this instance, before the Presidential and National Assembly elections, fixed for February 25, 2023.”
Why INEC must extend deadlines for party primaries, IPAC highlights reasons
The umbrella body of all the political parties in Nigeria, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), has called for an extension for the conduct of party primaries.
Speaking on a Channels Television Programme, the chairman of IPAC, Yabagi Sani, said the issue of zoning and power shift in contention in most political parties have necessitated an extension of the deadline.
Sani added that these issues combined with the time it takes for parties to involve in political consultations, voter education and campaigning activities warrant that the electoral commission shifts ground.
INEC chairman to join presidential race? Commission clears air
The chairman of INEC, Prof Yakubu Mahmood, had no plans of joining the 2023 presidential race.
This was disclosed by the electoral commission in a statement shared on its official Twitter handle on Sunday, May 8.
Reacting to comments and insinuations in some quarters that Mahmood may just surprise Nigerians by picking the presidential nomination forms, the commission declared that “it will not happen”.
It added that it is a preposterous proposition.
Source: Legit.ng
