Party Primaries Deadline Now On June 9 – INEC
Oru Leonard
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday consdered the request of political parties to adjust the timetable for the 2023 polls by extending the deadline for the conduct of party primaries and submission of list of nominated candidates by six days, from 3rd – 9th June 2022.
Barr. Festus Okoye, the Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee who disclosed this in a statement said that INEC met with the leadership of political parties at Abuja on Friday and again they 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 Feb. 26.
“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 6-day period between 4th and 9th June 2022 to conclude outstanding primaries and prepare to upload the list of candidates and their affidavits on the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal.
“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 same to the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal from June 10 to June 17.
“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,” he said.
Okoye however, said that the request was granted in respect of outstanding primaries only without prejudice to those already concluded by political parties.
On the INEC Candidates Nomination Portal, Okoye said that platform was available for political parties to submit list of their nominated candidates.
“After the conduct of primaries, the next critical activity for political parties is 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,” Okoye said.
He further said, the Commission, based on past experience, has decided to train the political party officials to make efficient and effective use of the portal.
Okoye said that the Commission would 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 cautioned.
Okoye also advised political parties to ensure that their primaries were free of rancour in order to meet the timelines for the remaining activities embodied in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election.
