Politics
By Anthony Isibor
THE Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has said that it did not publish a new final list of candidates for the 2023 general elections as being circulated by a section of the media.
The commission said in a statement on Monday that the public should discountenance the story because it cannot release another list just a few days to the elections and that some of the candidates that allegedly made the new “final” list are still in Court and the matter is therefore subjudice.
The report being circulated by the media stated that the new list was published on INEC’s website on Sunday 8th January 2023.
Reacting to the media report, Festus Okoye, National Commissioner & Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, said that there could not be a final list of candidates with just 46 days to the General Elections except for names published as substitutions for candidates nominated earlier in compliance with Court Order.
“The final list of candidates for the 2023 General Elections was published at least 150 days before the day of election in compliance with the provision of Sec. 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“The final list for Presidential and National Assembly elections were published on 20th September 2022, while that of Governorship and State Assembly elections was published two weeks later on 4th October 2022. These are clearly indicated as item 8 on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Elections released by the Commission on 26th February 2022.
“Political parties, litigants and the public should be guided accordingly,” the statement added,
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Tags: Anthony Isibor Festus Okoye INEC
