INEC’s resident electoral commissioner in Delta State, Mr. Monday Udoh-Tom, yesterday said the commission would not accept any political party’s results of primary elections held after June 3, 2023.
Udoh-Tom DENGOF, at its headquarters in Asaba, Delta State, said the decision to stick to the 2022 Electoral Act “once again sign-posts the commitment to bring some measure of certainty and sanity into the nation’s electoral calendar” at a one-day media/Civil Societies Organizations, CSOs, a roundtable on the 2022 Electoral Act.
For the sake of improving the legal framework for the 2023 general election and enhancing the overall electoral process, he noted that this Act was enacted.
According to Udoh-Tom: “The role of the media, CSOs as well as other election stakeholders cannot be overemphasized, hence the hosting of this event in Delta State, to familiarise participants with key provisions of Electoral Act 2022 as we turn a critical corner for INEC plans and processes for the 2023 general election. “
On behalf of the participants, I want to point out that the Electoral Act 2022, signed into law by President Obama on February 25, 2022, along with the country’s constitution and INEC policies will largely govern how the 2023 general election will be conducted.
As a result of the current Electoral Act, not only does it provide legal protection for the commission’s past and present innovations, which have often been defeated in the court of law over the years, but it also further enhances transparency, reduces ambiguity in election procedures, and reduces stakeholders’ use of Section 28(1) states, among other things, that ‘the commission shall, not later than 360 days before the day appointed for holding an election under this Act, publish a notice in each state of the Federation and the Capital Territory-(a) Stating the date of the election; and (b) Appointing the officers to carry out the election,’ the Commission began to implement the Act on February 28, 2022.
Because of this, the commission is now required by Section 29(1-8) to receive the list of candidates submitted by political parties 180 days before the general election in 2023, and in this case, 180 days before the presidential and national assembly elections scheduled for February 25, 2020. This has been the case ever since.
I believe this roundtable is intended to bring together the most important stakeholders and stakeholders in our electoral process to examine the Act’s ramifications for each player in their corner, with the overall goal of informed and enlightened value-added political discussion, activism, and reporting, which of course will ultimately benefit the 2023 general election outcome. “
To arrive at a predetermined end of the knowledge-driven outcome with less acrimony, fake news, and litigation at the end of the general election in 2023, all participants must agree from the outset of this meeting on the necessity of an in-depth understanding of what the Act says in every sphere of electoral activity.
- Tags: 2023 Elections, INEC
