By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
For the umteempt time, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reminded the 18 registered political parties of the necessity for strict compliance with the timelines for party primaries.
This is even as the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) is asking the electoral umpire to tinker with the earlier released election timelines by extending the time frame to enable political parties to meet up with the election schedule.
But INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu in his remarks at the Second Quarterly Meeting with Political Parties for 2022 held at INEC Conference Room, Abuja on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, has reiterated the position of the Commission that there will be no review of the timelines.
According to him: “Any review to extend the timeline for one activity wil affect other activities and put unnecessary pressure on political parties and the Commission”.
Continuing Yakubu said: “Twice in the last two weeks, the Commission had cause to remind political parties of the necessity for strict compliance with the timelines for party primaries. I hereby reiterate the position of the Commission that there will be no review of the timelines”.
“There are so many inter-related activities that are associated with the timelines which must be carried out. Any review to extend the timeline for one activity will affect other activities and put unnecessary pressure on political parties and the Commission. This will ultimately result in more complications than what the extension seeks to achieve”, the INEC boss insists.
Said he: “the Commission will not review the timelines. Working together, we should ensure fidelity to the timelines in conducting transparent and democratic primaries for the purpose of electing candidates for the 1,491 constituencies for which elections will be held on 25th February and 11th March 2023”.
Yakubu told IPAC members that Tuesday’s meeting was also the first since the Electoral Act 2022 came into force on Friday 25th February 2022, adding that it was “also our first meeting since the Commission released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election over two months ago on Saturday 26th February 2022”.
He stated that all the 18 political parties have forwarded the schedules of their primaries to the Commission, and some have commenced the process of choosing their candidates by conducting Ward and Local Government congresses.
“The period earmarked for the conduct of primaries by political parties commenced on 4th April 2022 and will end 24 days from today i.e. 3rd June 2022”, he explained.
Meanwhile, the INEC Chairman has charged all the political parties to promote inclusivity in the electoral process, saying Women, Youths and Persons with Disability (PWDs) have been yearning for greater representation, particularly in elective positions.
According to him: “As you conduct your primaries and nominate candidates for elections, this is the appropriate time to remind you of your commitment to promoting inclusivity in the electoral process. Women, Youths and Persons with Disability (PWDs) have been yearning for greater representation, particularly in elective positions.
“To assure citizens that you are not paying lip service to this commitment, political parties should encourage greater involvement of all under-represented segments of the society as candidates for elections. This is the only way we can change the reality of increasingly low level of representation of these critical segments of the society in legislative assemblies in particular and the governance of our country in general”, he said.
The INEC Chairman however welcomed the leadership of seven political parties who were not IPAC members four months ago when the Commission met with IPAC.
They are Chairmen and Secretaries of the Action Alliance (AA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Action Peoples Party (APP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) who attended the meeting for the first time in their new capacities.
In his response, Chairman of IPAC Engineer Yabagi Yusuf Sani, requested INEC to shift the timeline for the conduct of political parties primary elections by one month.
According to him: “In making the request for extension in the INEC stipulated timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general elections, we in the Inter-Party Advisory Council, are not unmindful of the provisions of the Constitution and the Electoral Act with respect to timelines in the electoral process”.
“We are however, of the considered view that our request will not, in any way, tantamount to an infringement or, a breach of any extant laws and provisions. This is because, the alterations that we are demanding, will not affect the statutory dates already fixed for the conduct of the 2023 general elections”.
“We are praying for the slight changes in the timetable for the conduct of party primaries in full consciousness of our position as key stakeholders in the nation’s democratic process and who, at the bottom of it all, constitute not only the greatest beneficiaries but, as the platform of all the registered political parties, we are in fact, the
fulcrum around which the entire system and processes revolve”.
