The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has expressed fears that 2022 pre-election matters may exceed that of 2019 if parties do not conduct their primaries in an orderly manner.

Yakubu made this disclosure when he hosted representatives of political parties at the national ⁴of of the Commission in Maitama during its 2nd Quarterly meeting with political parties for the year 2022.

He warned that political parties should endeavour to call their members to order as any attempt to usurp the function of the Commission will be punished for abuse of power, saying the Commission is committed to conducting transparent, free and credible elections where every member of the parties will heave a sigh of relief.

He said: "As you conclude your primaries and prepare for the off-cycle and general elections, I urge you to ensure a transparent electioneering process devoid of acrimony and rancour. In doing so, fidelity to internal democracy is critical. Unfortunately, the number of litigations by aggrieved party members challenging the conduct of party primaries so far may exceed the 807 pre-election Court cases on the 2019 General Election in which the Commission was joined by litigants.

" In addition, as we all know the security situation in the country is challenging enough. Do not wittingly or unwittingly compound the situation by the disruptive behaviour of your members and supporters during party primaries and general elections.

"As we commence our second regular quarterly consultative meeting for this year, I want to reassure party leaders that while the Commission will remain firm in applying the law, we will continue to work with political parties as critical stakeholders in the best interest of our country", he stated.

The INEC Chairman said this is the first since the Electoral Act 2022 came into force on Friday 25th February 2022 adding that it is the first time since the Commission released the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election over two months ago on Saturday 26th February 2022.

Perspectives for 2023, by Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa

He noted that already, all 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.

" 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. Therefore, 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.

In the spirit of working together to comply with the requirements of the law, the Commission has prepared a document to guide political parties in the conduct of primaries and nomination of candidates for election, including a checklist of the documentation required for a successful nomination. The guide is among the documents contained in your folders for this meeting. Similarly, the Commission has prepared a calendar of party primaries for presidential, governorship, and national and state assembly seats based on the proposals submitted by political parties as of Friday 6th May 2022. This document is also contained in your folders for this meeting", he explained.

https://thisnigeria.com/2022-pre-election-matters-may-exceed-2019-if-inec/