Off Season Election: INEC Cautions Political Parties To Shun Acrimonious Primaries
Princess-Ekwi Ajide (ABS Abuja Bureau Chief)
Ahead of the off-cycle governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has cautioned political parties to avoid acrimonious primaries.
The Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, who made the call during the quarterly consultative meeting with leaders of political parties in Abuja, said conduct of parallel primaries and emergence of multiple candidates is a frequent occurrence which leads to unnecessary litigations among party members.
He said oftentimes, the Commission is always joined as a party in the litigations which are usually not cost effective, saying that 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.
According to the chairman, some infractions that lead to litigations include 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 among others.
He urged political parties to adhere strictly to their proposed dates and modes of primaries as frequent changes are not only disruptive but costly.
The National Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council, IPAC and Allied People’s Movement, APM, Yusuf Dantalle, in his speech, promised that IPAC will partner with INEC and stakeholders in the electoral process to further consolidate democracy and restore Nigeria’s dignity and prosperity as the great arsenal of democracy in Africa, in the forthcoming governorship elections in Edo and Ondo States, and in subsequent polls.
According to him, the tasks of rebuilding the nation is the responsibility of the populace irrespective of political affiliations hence the need to reaffirm their faith in the fatherland and rededicate themselves to the service of the nation.
