Edo Governorship: Submission Of Candidates Names Closes On June 29 ― INEC

BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Wednesday announced that the 15 political parties participating in the Edo State Governorship election scheduled for September 2020 must conduct their governorship primaries and submit list of candidates latest by June 29, 2020.

Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu warned that there would be no extension of time for political parties that fail to submit the names and other details of their candidates that emerge from their primaries using the dedicated portal created by the INEC.

The INEC Chairman said that in the context of the current global health emergency particularly COVID-19, the Commission and other stakeholders have the additional responsibility to ensure the conduct of free, fair, credible and safe elections.”

He warned; “For emphasis, the deadline is 6:00 pm on Monday, 29th June 2020.”

Yakubu, who announced the deadline while delivering a speech at the second virtual meeting of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, also said that he had at a recent meeting with chairmen of political parties, asked them to submit the list of their delegates and membership registers for both the Direct and Indirect primaries depending on the mode each of the parties adopts.

The INEC boss said; “June 29 remain the deadline for submission of list of candidates for the 15 political parties. All political parties interested in fielding candidates for the election are reminded that they must conclude their primaries for the nomination of candidates in the next 10 days. The deadline is Saturday, 27th June 2020. I must stress that the date is firm and fixed.

“There will be no extension of the deadline. While the conduct of primaries and nomination of candidates will be the sole responsibility of political parties, our officials will monitor the primaries as required by law.

“Already, the Commission has published the date and mode of primaries for each of the 15 political parties that indicated their intention to participate in the election.

Yakubu appealed to staff of INEC and security agencies to maintain neutrality in the course of their duties in the electoral process, adding that as the nation approaches the governorship elections, the Commission and security agencies will play a critical role.

According to him; “We should remain proactive during the party primaries, electioneering campaigns, voting and eventual declaration of results. We must safeguard the process and protect all those involved as voters, INEC officials, observers, the media and even some of the unarmed security personnel deployed to the polling units.

“Doing so requires professionalism and neutrality. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, we should also ensure compliance with the protective measures contained in the recently published Commission’s policy as well as the advisory by health authorities”.