After several weeks of muscle-flexing, the Independent National Electoral Commission, on Friday, bowed to pressure by extending the 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.
Saturday PUNCH reported 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.
“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.”
The national chairman, Zenith Labour Party, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, while reiterating the stance of the IPAC chairman said the “window” would enable the parties to carry out the task ahead of them perfectly.
He stated, “What we are pleading is to give us time and move it within June 3 and June 9, which is the deadline for the submission of names of candidates that emerge from primaries. This is to ensure that we put our houses in order.
“We asked for 30 days, but you refused. We asked for two months and you also refused. So, we are asking for this small window.”
The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had in his response, reiterated the commission’s stance of not changing the June 3 deadline for the primaries of the 18 political parties.
Yakubu said the meeting was distinct from its regular consultative meeting, because it was specifically requested by the political parties.
He stated, “And the commission has obliged the parties accordingly. We just heard from the chairman of IPAC, who on behalf of the political parties, has once again requested a review of our election timelines.
“It appears that the proposition this time is different from the request made by IPAC for which the commission has responded emphatically that an extension of between 30 and 60 days will not be entertained in view of the overlapping activities.
“It appears that the parties have now presented a more defined request for what the chairman calls for a little adjustment.”
Okoye said in the statement that INEC would give the parties six days’ extension.
He said, “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 elections released on Saturday, February 26, 2022.
“Earlier, the political parties had requested 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 elections, 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.
“The commission did not schedule any specific activity during this period. The idea is to simply give the 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 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.”
Okoye added, “After the conduct of primaries, the next critical activity for political parties is the online submission of the list of the candidates the parties propose to sponsor, which shall be accompanied by affidavits 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.
“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 have 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.
“Political parties are therefore advised to ensure that their primaries are 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 elections.”
Civil society organisations and prominent Nigerians, including a former Chairman of INEC, Prof Attahiru Jega, had warned the commission against yielding to the demands of the political parties.
Jega said shifting the deadline would be a recipe for disaster.
Also, a chieftain of the APC, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, had accused INEC of endangering the conduct of the 2023 general elections with what he alleged to be its “plots and partisan interests.”
While warning of looming danger from the “tight INEC schedule of primaries imposed on political parties in the country,” he said the commission’s schedule “has been influenced purely by a section of the political elites, who have positioned themselves to benefit from this INEC calendar.”
According to him, it is not the business of INEC to fix dates of primaries as long as the primaries are conducted 180 days before the election in accordance with the provision of extant law.
But responding, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi, had said the extant laws gave the commission powers, as a regulator of political parties, to determine when party primaries should take place.
Oyekanmi said that the extension being sought by parties, if granted, would disrupt the planning template for the 2023 general elections with dire consequences.
The Special Assistant to the INEC Chairman, Prof Muhammed Kuna, had said contrary to Olawepo-Hashim’s assumptions, the timetable for the primaries was carefully deliberated upon with the full knowledge of the various critical activities the commission had to conduct before the 2023 general elections.
These, he said, included the printing and display of the list of nominated candidates, printing of results sheets, and movement of ballot papers, among other activities.
Meanwhile, INEC said on Friday that it would shut down the candidates’ nomination portal on June 17 for the presidential and National Assembly party flag bearers for the 2023 general elections.
Okoye said this in Abuja during a one-day forum on the Ekiti and Osun states’ governorship elections with the theme, ‘Elections coverage in Nigeria: A look at the grey areas in the Electoral Act’.
According to him, the commission will on July 15 close the portal for the governorship and state assemblies’ nominations.
Okoye said that any political party that failed to upload the list and personal particulars of its nominated candidates would not have a candidate for that particular position.
Speaking on the regulation of political parties, he said Section 29 of the Electoral Act gave political parties a total of 180 days to submit to the commission the list of candidates that parties were proposing to sponsor for elections, who must have emerged from valid primaries conducted by the parties.
He said, “Parties must be diligent in the screening of their candidates and any political party that presents to the commission the name of a candidate who does not meet the qualification stipulated in Section 29 of the Act commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N10m.
“Any political party that nominates a candidate that is not qualified has constitutionally excluded itself from submitting any name to the commission and the commission will not violate the intent of the constitution by accepting such nomination.”
INEC’s independence under threat, commission bowed to APC – Olurode
The decision of INEC to extend the deadline for the conduct of primaries by six days is a threat to the independence of the commission, a former National Commissioner, Prof Lai Olurode, has said.
Olurode said this in a statement on Friday titled, ‘INEC’s Independence under threat’, while reacting to the decision of the commission to extend the deadline.
The former INEC commissioner said it was obvious that the electoral body only decided to shift the deadline because it was under pressure from the ruling APC, which has not even begun preparations for its presidential primary.
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