Ondo guber: INEC tasks political parties on venues, dates for proposed primaries

….Says only 6 parties have uploaded candidates names for Edo election

By Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Ahead of the Ondo State governorship election slated for November 16th this year, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has tasked the various political parties, which have indicated interests in contesting the election, to adhere strictly to their proposed dates and modes of primaries.
The Commission harped on the need for the political parties to avoid acrimonious primaries.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu said these yesterday at his first regular meeting with the political parties in Abuja.
Prof Yakubu lamented that the frequent changes in dates and agreed venues as witnessed recently during the Edo primaries are not only disruptive but costly.
According to him, “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 mobilise, demobilise and remobilise 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.
“Similarly, political parties should avoid acrimonious primaries.
“Increasingly, the conduct of parallel primaries and the emergence of multiple candidates is 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”, he said.
Speaking on the forthcoming governorship election in Edo State, scheduled to hold on September 21st this year, the INEC Chairman explained that since the opening of the portal for the submission of candidates’ names,
only six parties have uploaded their nominations to the portal.
According to the INEC Chairman, “Already, party primaries for the Edo State Governorship election have been concluded.
“By the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, political parties have 20 days to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to our dedicated portal.
“We have trained party Liaison Officers and established a Help Desk for political parties.
“The portal opened on 4th March 2024 and will automatically shut down at 6pm on Saturday 24th March 2024.”