By JOHN ONAH, Abuja –
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has launched the regulations and guidelines for the conduct of general elections in the country.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, announced this on Friday during a meet of the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
“With the coming into force of the Electoral Act 2022, it has become necessary to review the commission’s regulations and guidelines to govern the conduct of elections,” he said. “The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act 2022 and the regulations and guidelines constitute the electoral legal framework.
“On several occasions, the commission has assured Nigerians that we are finalising the regulations and guidelines for the elections. I am glad to announce that the document is ready and will be presented to Nigerians shortly. The soft copy will be uploaded to our website with the link shared on our social media platforms.”
According to the INEC chief, the electoral umpire has virtually concluded the planning processes for the 2023 polls nine months ahead of the elections, with the release of the regulations and guidelines and earlier publication of the Strategic Plan (SP) 2022-2026 and Election Project Plan 2023.
He revealed that the training manual would also be presented to Nigerians in the next couple of weeks while INEC would focus on election administration going forward.
Yakubu listed such areas to include logistics, training, voter education, technology, sensitisation against vote-buying, inclusivity measures and security, among others.
He stressed that the ICCES would continue to play a critical role and extended the appreciation of the electoral umpire to all security agencies for their support.
Beside the general elections, the INEC chief also spoke about their preparations for the governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun States, as well as the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).
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