INEC Officially Postpones 2023 Governorship, State Assembly Elections, Announces New Date
- After viral speculations, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially confirmed the postponement of the 2023 Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections
- The elections initially scheduled for Saturday, March 11 will now hold on Saturday, March 18, according to Festus Okoye
- Okoye who is the INEC national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee explained why the electoral body made the decision
FCT, Abuja - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has officially announced the postponement of the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, March 11, 2023.
Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, announced this in a statement on Wednesday night, March 8.
Source: Facebook
He said the exercise will now hold on Saturday, March 18.
Why did INEC postpone governorship and state assembly elections?
Okoye said the shift is to enable the umpire body back up the data and reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines deployed for the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly polls to be used for guber and state legislative elections.
PAY ATTENTION: Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG!
Read the INEC's statement in full:
“Following today’s ruling by the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (EPT) on the reconfiguration of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) used for the Presidential election held on 25th February 2023, the Commission met to assess its impact on the Commission’s preparations for the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections scheduled for Saturday, 11th March 2023.
“Nigerians would recall that on 3rd March 2023, the Presidential EPT had given an ex- parte order for some political parties to inspect materials used for the Presidential election, including the forensic inspection of over 176,000 BVAS used in the election which are located in INEC LGA offices across the country.
“The Commission approached the Tribunal to reconsider the order, given that the BVAS Systems were to be deployed for the Governorship and State Assembly elections and that the lack of a clearly defined timeframe for the inspection could disrupt the Commission’s ability to conduct the outstanding elections.
“For instance, the BVAS can only be activated on the specific date and time of an election. Having been used for the Presidential and National Assembly elections on 25th February 2023, it is necessary to reconfigure the BVAS for activation on the date of the Governorship and State Assembly elections.
“While the ruling of the Tribunal makes it possible for the Commission to commence the preparation of the BVAS for the Governorship and State Assembly elections, it has come far too late for the reconfiguration to be concluded.
“Consequently, the Commission has taken the difficult but necessary decision to reschedule the Governorship and State Assembly elections which will now take place on Saturday 18th March 2023. By this decision, campaigns will continue until midnight of Thursday 16th March 2023 i.e. 24 hours before the new date for the election.
“This decision has not been taken lightly but it is necessary to ensure that there is adequate time to back up the data stored on the over 176,000 BVAS machines from the Presidential and National Assembly elections held on 25th February 2023 and then to reconfigure them for the Governorship and State Assembly elections. This has been the practice for all elections, including the period when the Commission was using the Smart Card Readers.
“However, we wish to reiterate that the Commission is not against litigants inspecting election materials. Consequently, it will continue to grant all litigants access to the materials they require to pursue their cases in court.
“We wish to reassure all political parties and candidates that the data from the Presidential and National Assembly elections will be backed up and available in INEC cloud facilities, including the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
“Political parties can apply for Certified True Copies of the backend data of the BVAS. Also, the results on the BVAS will continue to be available on the IReV for interested parties to access.
“We thank Nigerians and friends of Nigeria for their understanding as we continue to deal with these difficult issues and navigate these challenging times.”
What are Nigerians saying about the postponement?
Ibrahim Bello said on Facebook:
"History will be kind to Prof Mahmud for standing against evil.. Nigerians appreciate you. More wisdom. The best and most peaceful election was conducted under your watch."
Michael Okereke said:
"This country nawaooo, you people are the ones that kept Nigeria in this situation and you are still continuing on that evil path."
Mercy Ugo said:
"Even after this extra week, you will still not be prepared for the task ahead. No shred of responsibility and integrity."
Latifat Adekemi Olanrewaju said:
"May it be the best for Nigeria and Nigerians. God bless my Country."
Destiny Mela said:
"You guys should keep our presidential election results very safe. I don't want to hear any story."
Mazi Sunny Obasi said:
"Unfortunately, a lot of people today in Nigeria see INEC as a criminal entity. Restore the trust of the people by doing the right thing."
Appeal Court gives judgement on INEC’s request to reconfigure BVAS
Legit.ng notes that INEC's decision to postpone the polls came some hours after the Appeal Court sitting in Abuja granted its request on the reconfiguration of BVAS.
Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party had approached the court to stop INEC from reconfiguring the BVAS machines used in the previous election for the fear of tampering with the data imputed into the device.
The court, however, rejected Obi's application.
Source: Legit.ng
