When the Electoral Act Amendment Bill is signed into law, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will release a timetable for the 2023 general election, according to the commission's statement on Tuesday.
Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said this on Tuesday during the first quarterly meeting with political parties for the year 2022 in Abuja.
According to him, the commission is looking forward to a swift passage of the bill before it can release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the highly anticipated elections in the coming weeks and months.
"With regard to the Electoral Amendment Bill currently before the National Assembly, the commission is encouraged by the Senate President's assurance that the Bill will receive priority attention when the National Assembly returns from its recess today, as well as the President's commitment to assent to the Bill as soon as the issue of the mode of primaries by political parties is resolved."
The approval of the Bill, which is critical to our preparations for the upcoming elections, is something we are looking forward to. Following the passage of the legislation, the commission will immediately announce the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 General Election, which will be based on the new legislation."
Remember that President Muhammadu Buhari had vetoed the bill because it included mandatory direct primaries for political parties, which he considered unconstitutional.
The President, while returning the bill to the National Assembly, stated that the current status of the country would make it unfit for obligatory direct primary elections, and he demanded that the provision be removed from the bill in question.