…Bars 23 new parties from fielding candidates for Osun guber poll
The six months activities ahead of the 2019 general election kick-starts today as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed between today and October 16, 2018 for the conduct of primaries by the 91 political parties.
Details of activities schedule to culminate in the February 16, 2019 presidential election will be released by the commission today.
Also, the commission has barred the 23 newly registered political parties from participating in the September 22 governorship election in Osun State.
But the commission stated that the new parties , can field candidates for all elective positions in the 2019 general elections.
The National Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made this disclosure on Thursday while presenting registration certificates to the 23 newly registered parties at INEC headquarters in Abuja.
Yakubu said having satisfied constitutional requirements in Sections 222, 223 and 224 of the 1999 Constitution, the parties have equal rights with the existing 68 parties to sponsor candidates for the 2019 election.
The chairman also said that the 23 parties have automatically become members of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) and that they are eligible to participate in every activities organised by INEC.
He charged all 91 political parties in the country to ensure quality representation, while urging them to conduct seamless, free and credible primaries, congresses and conventions, ahead of next year’s polls.
He, however, said the commission will put in measures to guide against vote buying starting with the Osun governorship election.
“We have also contacted the security agencies to help us on this,” Yakubu said, while commenting on measures the electoral umpire has put in place to curb vote buying by candidates and political parties.
Yakubu said the commission will reorganise polling booths to prevent voters from showing ballot papers to their sponsors after casting votes.
The INEC chairman, who urged the new parties to obey the Electoral Act, the constitution of their political parties, added that political platforms must ensure a peaceful primary elections ahead of the 2019 general election.
Speaking on behalf of the new parties, the national chairman of African Action Congress (AAC), Omoyele Sowore, said the registration of the new parties came at a time when the country needs urgent political reordering.
He expressed optimism that one of the new parties will take over from the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress (APC) government.
The Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) chairman, Mohammed Nalado, while speaking, said that political parties must respect the nation’s laws and promote order, and peace.
He thanked the INEC for registering more political parties which he said has opened political space for the electorate to choose who represents them at whatever level.
While welcoming the new political parties into IPAC, Nalado said that they are free to contest the forthcoming IPAC executive election.
The newly registered political parties are Advanced Alliance Party (AAP), Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP), African Action Congress (AAC) , Alliance for a United Nigeria (AUN), Alliance of Social Democrats (ASD), Alliance National Party (ANP), Allied People’s Movement (APM), Alternative Party of Nigeria (APN), Change Nigeria Party (CNP) and Congress of Patriots (COP).
Others are Liberation Movement (LM), Movement for Restoration, Defence of Democracy (MRDD), Nigeria Community Movement Party (NCMP), Nigeria for Democracy (NFD), Peoples Coalition Party (PCP), Reform and Advancement Party (RAP), Save Nigeria Congress (SNC), United Patriots (UP), United Peoples Congress (UPC), We The People Nigeria (WTPN), YES Electorates Solidarity (YES), Youth Party (YP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
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