By Isaac Akerele
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in a statement directs Political parties to avoid unnecessary postponement, changes of the venues of their primaries as it releases their submitted schedules in the coming Edo gubernatorial Elections
INEC’s National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, said by virtue of Section 82(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, political parties are expected to give the Commission a notice at least 21 days before the date fixed for the conduct of their primaries.
In his words “As the Commission is set to deploy its monitoring teams, political parties are hereby reminded that Edo State is the Constituency for the election. Therefore, primaries must take place within the State in line with Sections 84(4) and 5(b) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“Parties are urged to avoid unnecessary postponement, arbitrary changes of venues of their primaries, wholesale change of delegates’ list or the submission of names that did not emerge from valid primaries as candidates for the election.
“They should also avoid rancorous primaries that lead to the breakdown of law and order often as a result of non-adherence to the provision of their constitutions and guidelines” he added noting further that such issues lead to many pre-election litigations
As a result, any changes by a party regarding the coming election elapsed as at February 4, 2024
The Schedules and arrangements as proposed by parties can be found on the INEC’s Website and Social Media platforms
