INEC Gives Political Parties Deadline

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked political parties to submit copies of their membership register to the commission before their primary elections.

The commission said the directive was in compliance with the new Electoral Act 2022, and mandatory requirement of the law.

INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, stated this at the second regular quarterly meeting of Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) in Abuja yesterday.

Yakubu said that as stipulated in the Electoral Act, parties ought to submit their register to the commission a month to their primaries, congresses and conventions. He lamented that only one political party has complied.

INEC had earlier on Thursday, during the public presentation of the 2022 to 2026 Strategic Plan and 2023 Election Project Plan, disclosed that it was doing everything possible to ensure that the elections hold as scheduled without hindrance regardless of the challenges the nation may be facing, especially insecurity in parts of the country.

It also revealed that Commission would spend about N239.2 billion on procuring voting materials and vehicles that will be used in the 2023 general election. “The N239.2 billion, which constitutes 78.44 per cent of a N305 billion budget, would be spent on 10 critical items which includes ballot papers, operational vehicles, ballot boxes, allowances of ad hoc workers, printing of result sheets, logistics and procurement of accreditation devices. Also included in the N239.2 billion budget is the N27.1 billion set aside for possible run-off elections, including the one for the presidential poll.”