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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, bowed to pressure and extended the deadline for political parties to conduct their primaries for the 2023 general election.
The development came on a day the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was neck-deep in the final preparations for its national convention, which would hold in today Abuja to elect its presidential candidate.
This was even as the Federal High Court sitting in Yenagoa has ruled that former President Goodluck Jonathan is eligible to contest the 2023 presidential election.
The presiding Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Isa Hamma Dashen, who declared Jonathan’s eligibility to contest the 2023 general election, held that Jonathan’s right to vie for the office of president again could not be stopped by any retroactive law.
INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman of Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, said the Commission took the decision to extend the deadline for the conduct of primaries after a meeting with the 18 registered political parties under the aegis of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) yesterday in Abuja.
IPAC had earlier sought a two-month extension from the June 3 deadline, a demand that was vehemently rejected by the Commission.
Okoye, in a statement, said the extension was to give parties time to compile the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates before uploading the same to the INEC portal.
He, however, noted that “this request is granted in respect of outstanding primaries only without prejudice to those already concluded by political parties, adding that Commission would not monitor already concluded primaries.”
The statement added: “INEC met with the leadership of political parties today, Friday, May 27, 2022. Once again, the political parties requested the Commission to review the timelines for political party primaries provided in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the conduct of the 2023 General Election released on Saturday, February 26, 2022.
“Earlier, the political parties had requested for 37 – 60 days extension of the timeline for primaries and the nomination of candidates.
“The Commission was emphatic that this request could not be granted, because it would disrupt other scheduled activities on the Timetable. This position of the Commission has not changed.
“However, based on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election, the parties have now pleaded with the Commission to use the six-day period between June 4 and 9, 2022, to conclude outstanding primaries and prepare to upload the list of candidates and their affidavits on the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal.
Read Also: Timetable: INEC Talks Tough As 18 Parties Fail To Conduct Primaries
“The Commission did not schedule any specific activity during this period. The idea is to simply give parties time to compile the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates before uploading the same to the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal from June 10 to June 17, 2022.
“The Commission has decided to allow the request of the political parties since the six-day period does not conflict with the next scheduled activity, which is the submission of the list of nominated candidates or any of the subsequent timelines which remain sacrosanct.
“However, this request is granted in respect of outstanding primaries only without prejudice to those already concluded by political parties. The Commission will not monitor already concluded primaries.”
According to Okoye, “after the conduct of primaries, the next critical activity for political parties would be the online submission of the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor, which shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn to by the candidates indicating that they fulfilled all the constitutional requirements for election into the various offices via the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal.
He added: “In addition, the Commission, based on past experience, has decided to train the political party officials to make efficient and effective use of the portal. The Commission will train four officials from each of the 18 political parties, making a total of 72 in all.
“Unfortunately, some of the political parties are still yet to submit their nominees for the training. The Commission hereby reminds such parties to do so immediately. The Commission wishes to reiterate that only electronically submitted nominations will be processed.”
He advised parties to ensure that their primaries would be free of rancor to meet the timelines for the remaining activities embodied in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election.
Source: Guardian
This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.