The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced the deadline for the submission of nomination forms for the forthcoming off-cycle Edo State Governorship election.
According to Sam Olumekun, the National Commissioner and Chairman of the Information and Voter Education Committee, the deadline for the conduct of primaries by political parties expired on 24th February 2024.
“The next activity in the electoral process is the submission of nomination forms by political parties via a dedicated online portal. INEC has allocated a 20-day period for political parties to upload the Personal Particulars (Form EC9) and Names/List of Nominated candidates (Form EC9B) of their candidates to the portal.
“The online portal will open at 9.00am on Monday 4th March 2024 and automatically close at 6.00pm on Sunday 24th March 2024. Access codes to the portal will be available for collection by the National Chairmen of political parties starting from today.
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“To assist political parties in ensuring smooth nominations, INEC is organizing a refresher training for two Liaison Officers per party. The training will take place from Friday 1st March 2024 to Monday 4th March 2024 at the Media Centre at the INEC Headquarters in Abuja.
“During the nomination period, the Media Centre will also serve as a Help Desk for any political party needing assistance.”
INEC emphasised that the 20-day timeline is sufficient for uploading the nomination forms of only two candidates per party (Governorship candidate and running mate). Therefore, no requests for extension of time will be granted beyond Sunday 24th March 2024.
Political parties are urged to strictly comply with the timelines set by INEC for the submission of nomination forms.