By: Mercy Peter
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof Mahmood Yakubu on Thursday said 17 political parties have so far indicated interest in the Ondo Governorship election.
Yakubu also revealed that numbers of political parties that have uploaded the particulars of their candidates for the Edo governorahip election is now 10.
He also urged the media to join in the fight against misinformation and fake news, saying that the commission is averse to censorship of the media.
He spoke at the INEC first quarterly consultative meeting in Abuja.
He said, “Ondo State Political Parties will commence their primaries for the Governorship election in the next two weeks.
‘At the moment, 17 out of 19 Parties have indicated interest in participating in the election. ”
He went on, “I urge media organisations to engage with Political Parties as well as their aspirants and report on the primaries with the same diligence and depth you report on the main election conducted by INEC.
“He added that by Doing so will go a long way to strengthen our democracy since only the products of the party primaries are ultimately placed on the ballot paper for citizens to vote for in the main election Party primaries are as important as the main election conducted by INEC”
On Edo, he said 18 Political Parties conducted their primaries monitored by the Commission. Going by the provision of the Timetable for the election, Political Parties have 20 days from 4th March 2024 to upload the list and personal particulars of their candidates to our dedicated web portal. As at this morning, 10 Parties have done so
, “We expect the other Parties to comply before the deadline of 6pm on Sunday 24th March 2024 when the portal automatically shuts down”.
Speaking on the fight against misinformation and fake news, INEC boss said, I urge you to continue to be a bulwark against fake news and misleading narratives about the Commission and its activities.”
