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- Urges them to engage, observe political parties primaries
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has threatened to deny accreditation to any Civil Society Organisation (CSO) who fails to submit the report of the previous elections they observed.
Yakubu handed the threat in his remarks at the first quarterly consultative meeting with the CSOs held at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.
He equally challenged the CSOs to deploy the same energy used in observing the elections conducted by the commission in monitoring the primary elections by the political parties.
His words: “I want to reassure you that INEC will continue to partner with CSOs. We appreciate the observations and recommendations contained in your election observation reports. Some of the reforms and innovations introduced by the commission over the years draw from your observation reports.
“However, while many of you have submitted your reports, some accredited observers are yet to do so for the general election, supplementary elections, off-cycle elections, bye-elections and re-run elections.
“May I therefore seize this opportunity to remind those that are yet to submit their observation reports that it is mandatory to do so being one of the conditions for eligibility to observe future elections. Going forward, the commission will operate strictly on the policy of “No Observation Report, No Accreditation,” he warned.
Urging the to monitor party primaries, Yakubu said: “Turning to Ondo state, political parties will commence their primaries for the governorship election in the next two weeks. 16 political parties have indicated interest in participating in the election.
“I urge CSOs to engage with political parties and observe their primaries just as you engage with INEC and deploy observers to the main election conducted by the commission. By doing so, you will strengthen your advocacy for inclusivity for groups such as women, youths and Persons with Disability (PwD) that are under-represented in elective offices at national and state level,” Yakubu noted.
Giving update on the Edo state governorship election, the electoral umpire boss said: “For Edo state, 18 political parties conducted their primaries monitored by the commission. Going by the provision of the timetable and schedule of activities for the election, political parties have 20 days from March 4, 2024 to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to our dedicated web portal.
“As at this Wednesday morning, eight parties have done so. We expect the other parties to do so before the deadline of 6pm on aMarch 24, 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down. Thereafter, the commission will publish the personal particulars of the candidates (Form EC9) on March 31, 2024 for public scrutiny as required by law,” he warned.
