INEC adjusts 2023 election dates over late signing of Electoral Act
NEWS DIGEST – The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has moves the 2023 Presidential election from February 18 to February 25, 2023, following the late signing of the Electoral Act by the President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was announced by the Chairman of the commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, at a news conference in Abuja on Saturday.
He said the Presidential and National Assembly elections will now hold on Saturday, February 25, 2023, while governorship and state houses of assembly elections will hold on March 11, 2023.
Yakubu explained that the new date is to allow for conformity with the provisions of the Electoral laws which stipulates that elections notice be published at least 360 days to the elections
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The INEC boss also said the electoral guidelines will also be published in due course.
From the adjusted electoral timetable distributed to journalists, all political parties are expected to conduct party primaries and resolve all disputes arising from the primaries between April 4 to June 3, 2022.
The submission of nomination forms by political parties is scheduled as follows:
Presidential and National Assembly: 10th June to 17th June 2022
Governorship and state assemblies: 1st July to 15th July 2022
The new Act states that INEC must publish the notice of election at least 360 days to the polls.
Several groups had called on the President to sign the bill before February 22, 2022, in order to ensure that INEC would not need to change the date in conformity with the Act.
However, Buhari signed it on February 25, 2022.
