Ahead of November 8 date for conduct of off-season Governorship election in Anambra, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has urged political parties willing to field candidates for the scheduled exercise to notify the Commission ahead of time on date for conduct of primaries.
National Chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, made the demand on Wednesday at his Commission consultative meeting with leadership of political parties.
The INEC Chairman who gave 20th March to 10th April 2025 as effective dates for conduct of primaries and deadline, asked political parties to forward their “schedule of activities for the election to the Commission to enable us work together and plan better for the deployment of personnel and resources for the monitoring of your party primaries and campaign activities in order to avoid the last minute rush with the attendant inability to meet deadlines and unnecessarily dissipate our energy and lean resources.”
He recalled; “So far, only a few parties are in compliance” and further urged those that have not done so to submit the details by the end of this week.
Professor Yakubu further disclosed that election into the six Area Councils in the Federal Capital Territory will hold on Saturday 21st February 2026.
“Voting will take place in all the designated Polling Units across the 68 constituencies to elect the six Area Council Chairmen and 62 Councilors.
“In compliance with the mandatory legal requirements, the notice for the election will be published next month i.e. 26th February 2025. Party primaries will be held from 9th – 30th June 2025. The candidate nomination portal will open from 9.00 am on 21st July 2025 to 6.00 pm on 11th August 2025. The final list of candidates will be published on 22nd September 2025. Campaign in public by political parties will commence on 24th September 2025 and end at midnight of Thursday 19th February 2026.”
The INEC Chairman revealed; “in due course, the Commission will come up with plans for other routine activities such as the resumption of nationwide Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and the conduct of outstanding bye-elections.”
Professor Yakubu who recalled that his Commission conducted nine bye-elections early last year, however, hinted of fresh exercise as “14 more vacancies have occurred since then.”
In his address, Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council, (IPAC), Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, commended INEC’s efforts in sustaining electoral integrity and called for cooperation of political parties and other stakeholders.
He equally expressed concern over growing indifference towards the electoral process as manifested in low turnout at polling booths during elections.
The IPAC Chairman also called on the National Assembly to expedite the amendment of the Constitution and Electoral Act to address emerging challenges, including the high cost and complexity of conducting bye-elections.
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