INEC begins preparations for 2023 general elections

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has commenced preparations for the 2023 general elections. The INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yakubu, on Monday said that the commission needs to start preparations early to seek ways to overcome challenges of the past make the future general elections better than the previous pones.

Professor Mahmood at a meeting with the Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs) from the 36 states of the federation, including the FCT, at the INEC headquarters, Abuja on Monday, mandated  all RECs to submit an inventory of all electoral materials in their custody in preparation for the 2023 general elections.

The INEC chairman explained that the commission needs to begin to concentrate on planning for election, adding that INEC must overcome the logistics challenges it faced during previous elections, insisting that the 2023 general elections will be better than all previous elections.

Prof. Mahmood had declared: “As you are also aware, the commission is committed to deepening the culture of planning for elections. The current five-year plan covering the period 2017-2021 expires this year.

“For this reason, a committee involving the participation of some Resident Electoral Commissioners was inaugurated a few weeks ago to review the strategic plan and the strategic programme of action to cover the next cycle of five years, 2022-2026.

“As we continue to plan for the next general elections, the RECs have been directed to compile and submit an inventory of all election materials in order to determine shortfalls and early steps to ensure there are adequacy and availability.”

The INEC chairman and his team had earlier held consultative meetings with leaders of political parties, including other stakeholders on creation of more polling units. However, the commission has not made categorical statement on the splitting of federal constituencies.