By Editor
If the deadline given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is anything to go by, six political parties who fielded candidates in the forthcoming Edo State governorship election but are yet to upload the lists of their governorship candidates into INEC’s portal may lose out completely as they are yet to do so.
Though the name of the political parties were not mentioned but this poses a huge threat to those parties.
Recall that INEC had earlier warned against extension of date.
According to INEC “By the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, political parties have 20 days to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to our dedicated portal.
“There will be no extension of time beyond the deadline already published in the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, to enable us publish the personal particulars of candidates (Form EC9) on 31st March 2024 as required by law”, INEC said.
In pursuance of that, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, has come up to say that, less than 24 hours for the closure of the commission’s portal, six political parties in Edo State are yet to upload the lists of their governorship candidates into its portal.
He also said that they would rally on the security agencies to have smooth election in the state.
“Six parties have not yet uploaded the list of their candidates for Edo poll to the commission’s portal barely 24 hours to the deadline.
“It is important to start security preparations very early. In particular, the number of personnel and other assets to be deployed to strategic locations should be determined and mobilized early enough.
“It was this proactive approach that led to the successful conduct of the last governorship election in Edo State on September 19, 2020 and in Ondo State on October 10, 2020.
“There were no security incidents, materials were delivered promptly, logistics deployed smoothly, polling units opened on time, voters attended to efficiently and results collated and announced transparently.
“Let us replicate the successful conduct of the last governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states. In fact, working together, we should ensure that the 2024 governorship elections in Edo and Ondo states are an improvement on the success story of 2020.
“In the next few months, there will be further engagements with the security agencies and other members of ICCES at both national and state levels. We look forward to your plans to secure the environment without which INEC cannot successfully conduct elections,” Yakubu said.