2023: INEC Extends Deadline For Party Primaries By Six Days

INEC Extends Deadline For Party Primaries By Six Days
IPAC had earlier sought a two-month extension, a demand that was vehemently rejected by the commission

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that the the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has extended deadline for the completion of political parties’ primaries for the 2023 general elections by six days.

The commission, however, said the extension did not include primaries that had already been concluded.

INEC National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, made the announcement in a statement titled, ‘Party primaries and submission of list of nominated candidates’, issued after a closed-door meeting of the commission’s top management with the leadership of the 18 political parties under the aegis of the Inter-Party Advisory Council.

This online media gathered that during a brief meeting with the commission on Friday in Abuja before the closed-door session, the IPAC leadership restructured its demand and appealed to INEC to shift the deadline by one week.

IPAC had earlier sought a two-month extension, a demand that was vehemently rejected by the commission.

The Chairman of IPAC, Yabagi Sani, had accused the commission of not carrying the leadership of the political parties along while designing the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 elections.

Sani had said the Sallah holiday; the forthcoming Ekiti and Osun state governorship elections and the screening of an unprecedented number of aspirants were issues that could hamper timely and strict compliance with the timetable.

Sani asked INEC to take a second look at the timetable, which the commission considered tight, because the new Electoral Act, 2022 was being put to use for the first time.

He said, “And the fact is that anything one is doing for the first time, you may make some mistakes. And we feel that if we’re given more time, we’ll be able to deliver on the promise of having free and fair elections as we conduct our primaries.

“This meeting is coming on the heels of the meeting, which the leaders of political parties had, where we unanimously considered it very important to seek another round of thoughts of your commission in view of the timetable.

FURTHER READING

“We are very grateful to you because of the innovations that you have brought to the electoral process and we want to be partners in progress that is why we are asking you to consider giving a little adjustment in the timetable for this important assignment.”

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