AHEAD of the 2023 election, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, has noted that Nigeria is currently at a critical stage in the electioneering process, declaring that the final list of presidential and National Assembly candidates will be released on September 20.
He also declared that the list of governorship and state assembly candidates will be released on October 4, while political parties will be allowed to kickstart campaigns on September 28. Yakubu made the disclosures on Thursday at a meeting between the electoral umpire and representatives of various security agencies organised by the Centre for Democracy and Development.
The INEC chairman appealed to aspirants to avoid incendiary remarks and restrict their campaigns to what they have to offer the electorate.
He said, “Activities towards the 2023 general election will enter the critical stages this month. In the next 19 days, the commission will publish the final list of candidates for national elections (presidential, senatorial and House of Representatives) as provided in Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and the timetable and schedule of activities released by the commission.
“This will be followed on October 4, 2022, by the publication of the final list of candidates for state elections (governorship and State Houses of Assembly).
“Campaign in public by political parties will officially commence on September 28, 2022, as provided by Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“As campaigns commence, we appeal to all political parties and candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns. This is the best way to complement our efforts to ensure transparent elections in which only the votes cast by citizens determine the winner.”
Speaking on the agenda of the meeting, the INEC chairman who restated his concern over security challenges across the country said it was a stakeholders forum meant to “discuss a very important enabler to the full participation of citizens in the electoral process.
“By bringing together experts, senior security officials and the INEC leadership to share experience and discuss security concerns ahead of the 2023 general election, CDD hopes to kickstart further collaborative engagements among stakeholders around the security challenges ahead of the election.
“I have no doubt in my mind that today’s meeting meets the twin tests of relevance and timeliness. The meeting is relevant because of the volatile security situation in some parts of the country and its implications on the forthcoming elections.
“It is timely because the election is fast approaching but there is still time to ad- dress the security concerns ahead of the election. Most appropriately, I believe that arising from the shared experience of participants at this meeting, specific recommendations will be made to further enrich our understanding of the security issues in the forthcoming election, the various dimensions of the challenges and, most importantly, possible measures to respond to them to ensure that elections peacefully hold nationwide as required by law.”
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