The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that 17 political parties have submitted names of nominated candidates for Ondo State governorship poll.
Festus Okoye, INEC Commissioner, Information and Voter Education, spoke on Tuesday after the commission’s meeting in Abuja.
NAN reports that the parley also deliberated on issues including the Nasarawa Central State Constituency Election scheduled for August 8.
He recalled that when INEC published the Ondo election timetable and schedule of activities on February 6, the deadline for submission of nominations was fixed for July 28.
Okoye confirmed that 17 out of the 18 parties gave the commission the requisite statutory notice of their intention to conduct primaries.
Noting that the commission opened its nomination portal on July 21, he said parties that conducted their primaries before the July 25 deadline uploaded nominated candidates ahead of the cut off time of 6p.m on July 28.
“As at 4.08 p,m on Tuesday, all the 17 political parties had submitted the list and particulars of their nominated candidates using the INEC dedicated portal,” he said.
Okoye added that list and personal particulars of all the candidates would be uploaded on INEC website and published in the state office in Akure, Ondo State, on July 31.
The official also warned that candidates found to have provided false information risked disqualification.
The commissioner explained that by section 31 (5) & (6) of the Electoral Act, a person who has reasonable grounds to believe that information in the affidavit or documents submitted any candidate is false, may file a suit in court seeking a court declaration.
“If the court determines that the information is false, the court shall issue an Order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election,” he said.
