Political parties in the country have asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to extend the timeline for the 2023 general elections by two months.
Specifically, the parties want slight changes to the primaries’ timeline to allow for robust participation.
INEC, in line with the new Electoral Act, fixed the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties for June 3rd, 2022.
Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Yabagi, made the appeal on Tuesday, 10th May, 2022, at a meeting of the electoral umpire and leaders of various political parties at the INEC headquarters in Abuja.
According to Yabagi, who also serves as the National Chairman of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), the extension is necessary to help political parties put things in order for the forthcoming general elections.
INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, in his opening remarks listed the agenda of the meeting which was well attended by national chairmen of various party, including Abdullahi Adamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Iyorchia Ayu of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Yakubu explained that discussions would focus on issues concerning the continuous voters’ registration, the upcoming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, as well as political parties’ primaries for the 2023 polls.
Professor Yakubu informed the party leaders that the commission would not review the existing timelines and appealed that primaries be conducted credibly in order to minimise litigations.
Story: Asma’u Sani
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