Presidential election now to hold on Feb 25, 2023

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says the presidential election will hold on February 25, 2023.

Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, disclosed this on Saturday at a media briefing in Abuja.

He added that the national assembly elections will hold on the same day, while governorship and state house of assembly polls will take place on March 11, 2023.

The announcement by INEC comes hours after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the electoral act amendment bill into law.

Yakubu said the 2023 polls were initially scheduled to commence on February 18, 2023 with the presidential and national assembly elections, followed by the governorship and state house of assembly elections on March 4.

He said the commission could, however, not release the detailed timetable and schedule of activities because of the pending enactment of the electoral act 2022.

“The electoral act provides strict timelines for the implementation of electoral activities based on the date of the general election. One of the significant timelines is the publication of notice of election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for holding an election, which has now lapsed for the 2023 general election,” he said.

“Consequently, the commission has decided to adjust the dates of the 2023 general election to ensure compliance with the provisions of the new law.”

Giving a breakdown of the schedule of activities, the INEC chairman said parties can conduct their primaries, as well as resolve all disputes over the primaries, between April 4, 2022, and June 3, 2022.

Submission of nomination forms via the INEC online portal for the presidential and national assembly elections will take place from June 10 and end at 6pm on June 17, 2022, while that of governorship and state houses of assembly will begin on July 1 and end on July 15.

Official date for the commencement of campaign for presidential and national assembly elections is September 28, while that of governorship and state assemblies is October 12.

All campaigns are expected to end at midnight on February 23, 2023, for presidential and national assembly elections, while for governorship and state assembly candidates, campaign will end on March 9, 2023.