An Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officer uses a Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine during the general election in Ibadan, Oyo State February 25, 2023.
Photograph by Ayo Adams/CCIJ
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked political parties in the Anambra governorship election to adhere to the scheduled dates of primaries.
The electoral commission has fixed November 8 for the conduct of the governorship election in Anambra.
Sam Olumekun, INEC’s national commissioner and chairman, information and voter education committee, gave the warning in a statement issued on Thursday.
He recalled that in line with the provision of section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, INEC published the notice of election on November 13, 2024, over 360 days before the election date.
Advertisement
“By the provision of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, the conduct of primaries for nomination of candidates by Political Parties commences in the next two weeks i.e. 20th March 2025 and ends on 10th April 2025,” the statement reads.
“So far, 12 out of the 19 registered Political Parties in the country have submitted the detailed schedules of their primaries.
“As agreed at our last consultative meeting with Political Parties held in January, doing so early will enable the Commission to plan for the effective monitoring of the primaries in line with the provision of Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.
Advertisement
“The seven parties that are yet to submit the required information are hereby reminded to do so in earnest.”
Olumekun urged political parties to adhere strictly to their proposed schedules.
He said sudden changes to the dates, venues and modes of the primaries would “lead to avoidable demobilisation and remobilisation of our monitoring staff, thereby disrupting the Commission’s workflow”.
“This also adds to the cost of monitoring primaries and the overall conduct of elections and electoral activities,” he added.
Advertisement
Add a comment
