THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed new dates for the 2023 general elections after President Muhammadu Buhari signed the electoral bill into law on Friday.
INEC announced February 25 as the new date for the conduct of the 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections.
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INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu disclosed this in a statement released on Saturday at a media briefing in Abuja.
He added that the National Assembly elections would hold on the same day, while governorship and state house of assembly polls would take place on March 11, 2023.
Extension from February 18 to February 25, 2023, was to comply with the 360-day notice of election provided in the newly signed Electoral Act.
“Therefore, the Electoral Act 2022, together with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), form the legal basis for conducting all elections in Nigeria. In particular, the Electoral Act provides strict timelines for implementing electoral activities based on the date of the General Election.
“One of the significant timelines is the publication of Notice of Election not later than 360 days before the day appointed for holding an election which has now lapsed for the 2023 General Election,” The statement read.
Yakubu said the commission had decided to adjust the dates of the 2023 general elections to ensure compliance with the provisions of the new law.
“Accordingly, the Presidential and National Assembly elections will now hold on Saturday February 25 2023 while the Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections will hold two weeks later on Saturday March 11 2023. With this adjustment, the 2023 General Election is now 363 days away,” he said.
Campaign for 2023 presidential and National Assembly elections will kick-off on Wednesday, September 28, 2022, and end on midnight of Thursday, February 23, 2023.
The 2023 governorship and state houses of assembly elections will take place on March 11, with campaigns to hold between Wednesday, October 12, 2022, and Thursday, March 9, 2023.
The new dates were announced at the end of the extraordinary meeting of the commission, which was called after the signing of the 2022 Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law on Friday by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The ICIR reported the signing of the electoral bill into law on Friday by President Buhari after five failed attempts.
A reporter with the ICIR
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