The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned the 12 political parties that have submitted detailed schedules of their primaries ahead of the Anambra State off-cycle governorship election to adhere strictly to their proposed schedules.
The commission handed the warning after its regular weekly meeting in Abuja, revealing that seven other registered political parties are yet to submit the required information for their primaries.
INEC further lamented that sudden changes to the dates, venues and modes of the primaries will lead to avoidable demobilisation and remobilisation of its monitoring staff, and disruption of the commission’s workflow, adding that it also adds to the cost of monitoring primaries and the overall conduct of elections and electoral activities.
The statement by Sam Olumekun, National Commissioner & Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, read: “The commission held its regular weekly meeting. Among other issues, the commission reviewed its preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle governorship election in Anambra State, scheduled for Saturday, November 8, 2025.
The public may recall that in line with the provision of Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, the commission published the Notice of Election on November 13, 2024, over 360 days before the date fixed for the election.
“By the provision of the timetable and schedule of activities for the election, the conduct of primaries for nomination of candidates by political parties commences in the next two weeks i.e. 20th March 2025 and ends on April 10, 2025.
So far, 12 out of the 19 registered political parties in the country have submitted the detailed schedules of their primaries.
“As agreed at our last consultative meeting with political parties held in January, doing so early will enable the commission to plan for the effective monitoring of the primaries in line with the provision of Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022.
“The seven parties that are yet to submit the required information are hereby reminded to do so in earnest.
Furthermore, we urge political parties to adhere strictly to their proposed schedules.
“Sudden changes to the dates, venues and modes of the primaries lead to avoidable demobilisation and remobilisation of our monitoring staff, thereby disrupting the commission’s workflow. This also adds to the cost of monitoring primaries and the overall conduct of elections and electoral activities,” the statement read.
The Sun Nigeria
