Posted by By JACOB EDI, Abuja on
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released a final time-table for the 2007 general elections. By the time-table, Presidential election will hold on April 21 while governorship and State House of Assembly election would have held a week earlier on April 14.
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released a final time-table for the 2007 general elections. By the time-table, Presidential election will hold on April 21 while governorship and State House of Assembly election would have held a week earlier on April 14. Run-offs for the presidential and governorship elections will be fixed at the time or shortly after the announcement of results.
However, political parties must submit the list of their presidential candidates and their personal particulars by December 22.
Candidates for National Assembly elections and their particulars must also get to INEC not later than that date. The list of candidates and their personal particulars for the April 14 governorship and state assembly elections must get to the Commission a week earlier.
A public bulletin signed by Prof Maurice Iwu, Chairman of INEC and dated October 12, 2006, indicated that the processes leading to the election would be kick-started on November 8 with the issuance of notice of polls in line with Section 31 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2006.
Parties fielding candidates for the polls can begin to collect nomination forms from INEC on January 15, 2007 and must return all such documents not later than two weeks from that date. But no candidate, by the time-table, will be able to withdraw after February 3 next year for the governorship and State Assembly category and February 10, 2007 for presidential and National Assembly contests.
Parties cannot change their candidates or substitute names after withdrawal for the governorship and State Assembly polls after February 13, 2007 and February 20, 2007 for the presidential and National Assembly elections.
On March 8, 2007, the list of nominated candidates for the governorship and State Assembly elections will be published while that of the presidential and federal legislature will follow a week after in line with the Electoral Act that provides for at least 30 days before the polls for the list to be published.
Notice of polls will be published on March 24, 2007 for the state elections, while those of the federal level will come up a week after. The processes will culminate on the governorship and State Assembly elections on April 14, 2007, and April 21, 2007 for the presidential and national assembly polls while campaigns by candidates must end 24 hours before the elections.