The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has cautioned political parties to comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 or risk being disallowed to participate in the 2023 elections.
The commission made this known in a statement issued on Tuesday by the National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.
He said that as required by law, the Commission shall monitor the primaries of each political party that provides the required legal notice in line with Sections 82 (1) and (5) of the Electoral Act.
The statement also indicated that the failure of a political party to notify the Commission of any convention or congress convened for the purpose of nominating candidates for any of the elective offices specified in the Act should render the convention or congress invalid.
The Commission reiterated that parties must adhere strictly to the principles of internal democracy, drawing from their constitutions, guidelines, the Electoral Act, and other Regulations and Guidelines issued by the Commission while their candidates for the 1,491 constituencies for which elections will be conducted in 2023 must emerge from democratic, transparent and valid primaries, in line with the provisions of Sections 29 and 84 of the Electoral Act, 2022.
Festus Okoye maintained that if a political party fails to comply with the provisions of the Act in the conduct of its primaries, its candidate shall not be included in the election for the particular position in the issue.
