Countdown To Edo, Ondo Gov Elections: INEC Urges Political Parties To Avoid Infractions That Can Cause Litigations

By Ayodele Oni

The Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has announced that 16 out of 19 registered political parties have indicated interest in contesting this year’s November 16 governorship election in Ondo State.

He was speaking at the first regular quarterly Consultative meeting with political parties for 2024 held in  Abuja, on Tuesday.

Prof Yakubu said, “for the Ondo State Governorship election, party primaries begin in the next two weeks on 6th April 2024 and ends three weeks later on 27th April 2024. So far, 16 out of 19 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.

“I urge political parties to adhere strictly to your proposed dates and modes of primaries. Frequent changes as we witnessed recently during the Edo primaries are not only disruptive but costly.

“The Commission cannot mobilize, demobilize and remobilize our officials for the monitoring of party primaries at the convenience of political parties. Parties should stick to their proposed dates and modes of primaries for certainty and optimal deployment of resources.”

The quarterly consultative meeting, which is  first meeting since the election of a new leadership for the umbrella body of political parties in Nigeria, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), was attended by the new executive of IPAC,  under the leadership of Chairman of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Yusuf Dantalle.

On the Edo State Governorship election, which holds on Saturday 21st September 2024, Mahmoud urged political parties to adhere strictly to  schedule of activities and avoid last minute rush that may undermine your ability to successfully nominate your candidates.

“There will be no extension of time beyond the deadline already published in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, to enable us publish the personal particulars of candidates (Form EC9) on 31st March 2024 as required by law.”

He urged political parties to avoid acrimonious primaries as conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates has become a frequent occurrence.

“So too is the tendency to grant waivers to candidates who were a few days earlier card-carrying members of other political parties and nominating such persons to the Commission as their candidates for election.

“Some of these infractions lead to unnecessary litigations among party members in which the Commission is always joined as a party. The legal fees and cost of producing Certified True Copies (CTCs) of documents can be used more productively in other electoral activities by both the political parties and the Commission. We must find a solution to this situation.”