Joash Amupitan, chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says the commission will have to use extant laws if the Electoral Act amendment is delayed any further.
The INEC chairman spoke in Abuja on Wednesday at the regular
quarterly consultative meeting of the commission with the civil society
organisations (CSOs).
Amupitan said early amendment of the Electoral Act is
critical in the commission’s preparations for the 2027 general election, the
release of the timetable and the schedule of activities for the polls.
He said although INEC had already concluded the timetable
for the 2027 general elections, it was still awaiting the conclusion of the
amendment of the Electoral Act.
“Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act, 2022, empowers the
commission to issue a notice of election not later than 360 days before the
date of the poll,” he said.
“While the National Assembly is currently working on
amendments to the Electoral Act, the commission has made its submission as
required. We are mindful of the growing public interest and anticipation
surrounding the release of the timetable.
“We wish to assure political parties and the Nigerian public
that the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2027 general elections
will be released in full compliance with the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended), and the Electoral Act, 2022.”
Amupitan also said INEC was seeking the support of CSOs in
urging the national assembly to “expedite action on the ongoing amendment of
the Electoral Act”.
“We have hesitated a little bit because we have the
timetable already, but there are some proposed amendments that will affect the
timetable. But, if the process is delayed any further, we may have to go to the
extant laws,” he said.
On the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council
elections, Amupitan said INEC would hold a mock accreditation on February 7 in
289 selected polling units across the six area councils.
He said 83 domestic and five foreign observers had been
accredited for the polls, which would involve 1,680,315 registered voters
across 2,822 polling units in the six area councils of the FCT.
The INEC chairman also said the election would be contested
by 570 candidates in 68 constituencies for the positions of chairmen and
vice-chairmen, and 62 councillors made up of 10 wards each for five area
councils and 12 wards for the Abuja municipal area council.
He urged the CSOs to help mobilise FCT residents to go out
and collect their permanent voter cards (PVCs) in the ongoing distribution that
would end on February 10 in FCT.
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