INEC’s Timetable and the 2019 General Election
The comprehensive timetable for the next general election released last week by the Independent National Electoral Commission has set in motion a flurry of political activities across the country, writes Onyebuchi Ezigbo
The Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) last week released detailed timetable of activities leading to the next general election in 2019. The timetable consists of schedules for the Presidential, National and State Assembly, Governorship and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Council elections.
The unveiling of the timetable by the commission has thus signalled the commencement of various political activities associated with preparations for the general election. It has also removed the veil shielding politicians with ambition to contest the 2019 elections.
According to the election timetable, party primaries for the Presidential, Governorship, Federal and State Elections would begin on August 18 and will end on October7 2018, while that of the FCT Area Council Elections will commence on September 4 to end on October 27 2018.
INEC said formal publication of notice of election for national and state elections would be on August 17, 2018 while that of the FCT Area Council Elections would be done on September 3, 2018.
Also collection of nomination forms by political parties for national and state elections begins from August 11 to 24 while that of the FCT Area Council elections would be between November 3 and 10, this year.
Commencement of campaign by political parties will start in November 18 for Presidential and National Assembly Elections; December 1 for Governorship and State Assembly elections and December 2 for the FCT Area Council elections.
The last day for the submission of nomination forms to INEC for Presidential and National Assembly Elections is December 3 and that of Governorship and State Assembly will be December 17. Submission of forms for the FCT Area Council Elections is fixed for December 14.
INEC equally fixed the last day of campaigns for February 14, 2019 for Presidential and National Assembly Elections as well as February 28, 2018 for Governorship, State Assembly and FCT Area Council Elections.
While announcing the timetable at a press conference in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Professor Yakubu Mahmood, said that the decision to be more proactive in announcing dates and schedules of elections well ahead of time was to engender certainty in the electoral calendar and to enable all stakeholders to prepare adequately for elections.
He recalled that the commission had on March 9 2017 announced dates for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections indicating that Presidential Election would hold on February 16 2019, while Governorship and State Assembly Elections would be conducted on March 2, 2019.
A breakdown of the elective positions lined up for grabs in the 2019 contest shows that the commission will be conducting elections for 1,558 constituencies made up of one Presidential constituency, 29 governorship constituencies, 109 senatorial districts, 360 Federal Constituencies , 991 state asesmbly constituencies, six Area Council Chairmanship as well as 62 councilorship positions for the FCT.
The commission also announced the registration of 21 new political parties to bring the total number to 68. The new parties include-. All Blending Party (ABP), All Grassroots Alliance (AGA), Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP), Coalition for Change (CC) and Freedom and Justice Party (FJP).Also registered are Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN), Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP), Legacy Party of Nigeria (LPN), Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA), Modern Democratic Party (MDP), National Interest Party (NIP), National Rescue Mission (NRM) and New Progressive Mission (NPM).
Others are: New Progressive Movement (NPM), Nigeria Democratic Congress Party (NDCP), People’s Alliance for National Development and Liberty (PANDEL), People’s Trust (PT) and Providence People’s Congress (PPC), Re-Build Nigeria Party (RBNP), Restoration Party of Nigeria (RP) and Sustainable National Party (SNP).
One of the implications of unveiling the election timetable by INEC is that there will soon be a flurry of political activities across the country. Political parties are expected to commence talks over alliances and realignment of forces in a bid to reinforce their chances ahead of the general election. .Some of the political groups that may have been flirting with the idea of merger or reaching understanding on a collaborative deal will have to dust up their files and begin serious engagement.
In the same vein, the struggle to register more members will become more intense among the political parties, especially now that the number of the parties has reached 68 with more still waiting to be registered.
On its part, INEC which had earlier introduced continuous voter registration exercise will be expected to scale-up its preparatory activities. There will be more engagements with the stakeholders, political parties, civil societies bodies and the media.
While presenting the timetable, Mahmood reminded political parties, candidates and other critical stakeholders that election is a process which is governed by law and that the commission expected full adherence to the provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Act. By this, he must have been sounding a note of caution to those parties that have been operating in contravention of the electoral laws to be ready to put their houses in order or face necessary sanctions as prescribed by law.
Last week, during the formal presentation of certificates of registration to 21 associations that have fulfilled the requirements for registration as political parties, the National Commissioner/ Chairman of Election and Party Monitoring Committee, Prof. Antonia Simbine said that about eighteen of the registered 68 political parties in the country had invalid National Executive Committees whose tenures had expired or were not reflective of the Federal Character of Nigeria as required by the constitution.
She declared that the erring parties have been given 90 days to rectify the anomaly. She also said that seventeen out of them had no functional offices in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as required by the law. Sections 222(a-f) and 223 (1&2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) requires among others that registered political parties must always maintain a functional National headquarters address in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). In addition, members of the national executive committees of the parties must not only reflect federal character but also have tenures that are renewed at intervals not exceeding four (4) years.
As expected, the release of the election timetable has begun to elicit reactions from political stakeholders. One of the parties, Action Democratic Party (ADP) has rejected the schedule saying the idea of fixing the presidential election first will give the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) undue advantage and an opportunity to outwit the opposition. The national chairman of ADP, Yagbaji Sani said the party wanted the electoral umpire to reverse the order of the election and to conduct the election beginning from the State Houses of Assembly instead of Presidential election.
The leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) said its leadership would meet to consider the timetable of activities for the 2019 general election as released by INEC. Speaking on the release of the election timetable, National Publicity Secretary of PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan said that the party leadership was studying the timetable with a view to responding appropriately to it.
The struggle to register more members will become more intense among the political parties, especially now that the number of the parties has reached 68