The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that the 18 registered political parties substituted a total of 1,435 out of 15,333 nominations it processed for elective offices for next year’s general election. The Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Barr. Festus Okoye, at a two-day workshop on critical issues in the Electoral Act yesterday, said these substitutions were due to withdrawals or death.

Barr. Okoye, however, explained that these substitutions were made in accordance with section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022. He also disclosed that despite the provisions of the Act limiting filling of actions by aspirants only at the Federal High Court, the commission was served with court orders in respect of 56 nominations and over 100 complaints arising from the nominations.

The National Commissioner further noted that INEC trained staff of political parties for four days, on the use of INEC Candidates’ Nomination Portal (ICNP), but regretted that though the parties had ample time to upload the list of their nominees but they preferred “to wait till the last day and were caught up by deadlines because the portal is programmed to shut down automatically at 6 pm on the last day.” 

He commemded the new timelines in the Electoral Act, especially section 28, which allows political parties a period of 360 days for the issuance of Notice of Election, and to submit the list of candidates who emerged from validly nominated primaries.