The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said it would publish the final list of candidates for 2023 Presidential, Senatorial and House of Representatives elections on September 20, 2022.
This will be followed by the publication of the final list of candidates for Governorship and State Houses of Assembly polls on October 4, this year.
Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC chairman, said this in his remarks at the expert meeting on conducting elections in volatile security environment, organised in collaboration with the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) in Abuja on Thursday.
Yakubu said this is in compliance with Section 32(1) of the Electoral Act 2022 and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities released by the Commission in February.
He also reiterated that public campaign by political parties will officially commence on September 28, 2022 as provided by Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022.
“As campaigns commence, we appeal to all political parties and candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns. This is the best way to complement our efforts to ensure transparent elections in which only the votes cast by citizens determine the winner,” the chairman said.
According to Yakubu, the election is fast approaching but there is still time to address the security concerns ahead of the exercise.
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He said: “By bringing together experts, senior security officials and the INEC leadership to share experience and discuss security concerns ahead of the 2023 General Election, CDD hopes to kickstart further collaborative engagements among stakeholders around the security challenges ahead of the election.
“I have no doubt in my mind that today’s meeting meets the twin tests of relevance and timeliness. The meeting is relevant because of the volatile security situation in some parts of the country and its implications on the forthcoming elections.
“Most appropriately, I believe that arising from the shared experience of participants at this meeting, specific recommendations will be made to further enrich our understanding of the security issues in the forthcoming election, the various dimensions of the challenges and, most importantly, possible measures to respond to them to ensure that elections peacefully hold nationwide as required by law.
“The Commission welcomes this initiative and as Co-Chairman of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), there is no doubt that the security agencies also welcome ideas and citizens’ support towards peaceful elections. After all, only recently the office of the Inspector General of Police organised a nationwide capacity-building for police personnel on election security. The Police was not only motivated by the same concern of ensuring a secure environment for the election but also enhancing the professionalism of police personnel on election duty.”
