The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had released the timetable and schedule of activities for the 2019 general elections.
The electoral umpire had earlier scheduled February 16, 2019 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections and March 2, 2019 for the Governorship and state house of assembly poll respectively.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, INEC Chairman Mahmoud Yakubu, announced that activities for the polls will commence on August 17, 2018 while parties will conduct their primaries between August 18 and October 7, 2018.
According to him, campaign by political parties for the presidential and National Assembly elections will commence on November 18, 2018 and end on February 14, 2019, while that of governorship and state assemblies will begin from December 1, 2018 and end on February 28, 2019.
In the same token, last day for withdrawal by candidate(s)/replacement of withdrawn candidate(s) by political parties is November 17 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections and December 1 for governorship and state assembly polls.
While last day for the submission of nomination forms by political parties is December 3 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections, December 17 is for governorship and state assembly polls.
Details of the timetable which was made available to BusinessDay also revealed that January 7, 2019 is for publication of official register of voters, while January 2, 2019 is publication of Notice of Poll for all elections.
Similarly, publications of list of nominated candidates are billed for January 17, 2019 for the Presidential and National Assembly elections and January 31, 2019 for governorship and state assembly polls.
In like manner, submission of names of party agents is fixed for February 1 and 16, 2019 for the Presidential and National Assembly as well as governorship and state assembly polls respectively.
The INEC chairman disclosed that the Commission will conduct elections for 1,558 constituencies in 2019.
He gave the breakdown to include: one Presidential Constituency, 29 Govenorship constituencies, 109 Senatorial Districts, 360 Federal Constituencies, 991 State Assembly Constituencies, six Area Council Chairmen as well as 62 Councillorship positions for the FCT.
“The decision of the Commission to fix election dates is to engender certainty in our electoral calendar and to enable all stakeholders to prepare adequately for elections, as is the case in many mature and developing democracies.
“Already, the Commission has concluded its Strategic Plan and the Strategic Plan of Action for the current electoral cycle and beyond covering the period 2017-2021 as well as Election Project Plan. The Commission is moving away from the culture Of quick fix, tire brigade approach to the management of elections in Nigeria.
“As our democracy matures, the planning and implementation of electoral activities should be predictable and systematic. This is all the more pertinent given the size and population of the country, the terrain, logistical requirements, the increasing number of political parties, security challenges and number of constituencies for which elections are to be held,” he said.
The development comes as the Commission announced that it will issue certificate of registration to 21 new political parties on Wednesday, January 10.
Yakubu also revealed that over 100 political associations have sought the permission of the Commission for registration as political parties.
With this development, the number of political parties in Nigeria has increased from 67 to 88.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja
