The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has made open threats that are intended to take legal actions against the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC if the body would fail to extend the deadline for voters registration.
SERAP said this in a statement on its verified Twitter handle while reacting to the extension of party primary elections.
Recall that the electoral body had on Friday, extended the deadline for political parties to conduct their primary elections by one week. The new deadline is expected to elapse on June 6. Reacting, SERAP urged INEC to extend the same gesture to voters’ registration to enable eligible Nigerians register for their Permanent Voter Cards, PVC.
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The tweet reads, “Following the extension of party primaries’ deadline by INEC, we call on the body to immediately extend voters’ registration exercise to ALSO give more time for Nigerians to exercise their rights. We’ll sue INEC if voters’ registration is not immediately extended”.
Africa Today News, New York reports that while online registration for the PVC may end on May 30, physical registration is expected to elapse in June.
The Independent National Electoral Commission on Friday bowed to pressure from political parties seeking the extension of the June 3 deadline for the conduct of primary elections by approving an additional six days extension.
The electoral umpire, however, clarified that the extension is granted in respect of outstanding primaries only and not those already concluded.
The INEC Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, made this known in a statement issued on Friday night after the meeting of the commission and the leadership of the 18 registered political parties under the aegis of the Inter-Party Advisory Council in Abuja.
The statement read in part, “The commission has decided to allow the request of the political parties since the six-day period does not conflict with the next scheduled activity which is the submission of the list of nominated candidates or any other subsequent timelines which remain sacrosanct.
“However, this request is granted in respect of outstanding primaries only without prejudice to those already concluded by political parties. The commission will not monitor already concluded primaries.”
Read full statement:
The Independent National Electoral Commission met with the leadership of political parties today Friday, May 27, 2022. Once again, the political parties requested the commission to review the timelines for political party primaries provided in the timetable and schedule of activities for the conduct of the 2023 general election released on Saturday, February 26.2022.
Earlier, the political parties had requested for 37 – 60 days extension of the timeline for primaries and the nomination of candidates. The commission was emphatic that this request could not be granted because it would disrupt other scheduled activities on the timetable. This position of the commission has not changed.
However, based on the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2023 general election, the parties have now pleaded with the commission to use the six-day period between June 4-9 2022 to conclude outstanding primaries and prepare to upload the list of candidates and their affidavits on the INEC candidates nomination portal.
The commission did not schedule any specific activity during this period. The idea is to simply give parties time to compile the list and personal particulars of their nominated candidates before uploading same to the INEC candidates nomination portal from June 10-17 2022.