The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has warned political parties against delay tactics and acts that can overheat the polity as well as cause unnecessary expenditures for them.
The INEC chairman said the commission would not work at the pace of the political parties.
He said less than six days to the close of nomination for the off cycle governorship election in Edo State, only six political parties have so far submitted the names of their candidates for the election to the commission.
Yakubu spoke on Tuesday as the National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, accused some unnamed godfathers and reactionary forces from other political parties as responsible for the factionalisation and imposition of candidates in political parties to ensure they conquer the electoral process.
Speaking at the first regular quarterly meeting between the commission and the political parties, Yakubu warned the political parties to abide by the scheduled timetable as released by the commission.
The INEC chairman stressed that the commission would not extend the time for the parties to upload the names of their candidates to the commission’s dedicated portal.
He said: “The Edo State governorship election is holding in the next six months; that is, Saturday, September 21, 2024, while the Ondo State governorship election is holding in eight months; that is, Saturday, November 16, 2024.
“Already, party primaries for the Edo State governorship election have been concluded. By the timetable and schedule of activities for the election, political parties have 20 days to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to our dedicated portal.
“We have trained party liaison officers and established a Help Desk for political parties. The portal opened on March 4, 2024 and will automatically shut down at 6 p.m on Saturday, March 24, 2024.
“Two weeks later, only six parties have uploaded their nominations to the portal. We urge you to keep to our schedule of activities and avoid last-minute rush that may undermine your ability to successfully nominate your candidates.
“There will be no extension of time beyond the deadline already published in the timetable and schedule of activities for the election, to enable us publish the personal particulars of candidates (Form EC9) on March 31, 2024, as required by law.”
Commenting on the Ondo governorship election, Yakubu said: “For the Ondo State governorship election, party primaries begin in the next two weeks, on April 6, 2024, and ends three weeks later on April 27, 2024. So far, 16 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.
“I urge political parties to adhere strictly to your proposed dates and modes of primaries. Frequent changes, as we witnessed recently during the Edo State primaries, are not only disruptive but costly.
“The commission cannot mobilise, demobilise, and remobilise our officials for the monitoring of party primaries at the convenience of political parties. Parties should stick to their proposed dates and modes of primaries for certainty and optimal deployment of resources.”
