INEC releases polls timetable

Category: Nigerian Economy


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INEC releases polls timetable

 

08 September 2010
• Party primaries: September 11 – Oct. 30
•Voter registration: Nov. 1 – Nov. 14
• National Assembly election: Jan. 15, 2011
• Presidential polls: Jan 22
• Governorship and State Assembly Polls: Jan. 29
Now, it is official. Next year’s presidential election holds on January 22.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), which announced the date yesterday, said the National Assembly polls would take place on January 15, while the state governorship and state Houses of Assembly elections hold on January 29.
Announcing the detailed timetable after about four hours of meeting by the Commission’s management in Abuja, the Chairman of the Information and Publicity Committee (IPC), Solomon Adedeji Soyebi, said the conduct of party primaries would begin on September 11 to October 30, 2010. This is to enable political parties democratically nominate candidates for the elections as required by Section 87 of the 2010 Electoral Act.
Issuance of notice of election is fixed for October 13, 2010; commencement of campaign by political parties (October 17, 2010); collection of Forms CF001 and C002 (October 19-22, 2010); voters’ registration (November 1-14, 2010) and display of voters’ register for claims and objections (November 20-25, 2010).
The last day for the submission of Forms C001 and C002 to the INEC headquarters for the National Assembly polls is November 15; Presidential election, November 22 and governorship/state Assembly elections, November 29, 2010.
The publication of personal particulars of candidates. CF001) is as follows: National Assembly, November 22; Presidential, November 29 and governorship/state Assembly, December 6, 2010.
Last day for withdrawal of candidates/substitution of withdrawn candidates by parties for National Assembly elections, November 30; Presidential election, December 7 and governorship/state Houses of Assembly elections, December 14, 2010 while publication of official register of voters for elections, December 16, 2010.
Others are: Collection of nomination forms, November 22-25, 2010; last day for submission of nomination forms by parties for National Assembly elections, December 4; Presidential election, December 7 and governorship/state Houses of Assembly elections, December 10-11, 2010.
Publication of list of nominated candidates for National Assembly, December 16; Presidential election, December 23 and governorship/state Assemblies, December 30, 2010. Publication of notice of polls for: National Assembly, December 31, 2010; Presidential election, January 8, 2011 and governorship/state Assembly elections, January 15, 2011.
Last day for campaigns for National Assembly, January 14, 2011; Presidential election, January 21, 2011 and governorship/state Assemblies, January 28, 2011.
In the meantime, an opinion poll conducted by an agency involving former Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has pointed to significant support for the change of guards at INEC.
On June 8, 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Prof. Attahiru Jega as the new chairman of the INEC. Jega’s nomination was generally lauded by both opposition and pro-establishment parties as he is largely regarded as a man of integrity capable of effective leadership of the INEC. Nonetheless, concerns still remain regarding the conduct of the upcoming 2011 elections and the implementation of reforms in the electoral process.
In a recent survey conducted by NOI Polls, 80 per cent of Nigerians said that they were aware of Jega’s appointment as INEC chairman.
In addition, his appointment has boosted most respondents’ confidence in INEC’s capacity to conduct credible elections, with 73 per cent responding “Yes” to the question “Does the change in leadership make you more confident or less confident in INEC’s ability to conduct free and fair elections?”
Also, according to the poll, most Nigerians are looking forward to casting their votes.
The survey also asked respondents whether they intended to vote in the 2011 elections. Just under nine in 10 of those quizzed (87 per cent) said “Yes” with only nine per cent responding “No” to the question.
However, some are not enthusiastic.
Of the nine per cent who said they have no plans to vote in the 2011 elections, the majority (52 per cent) said they were not interested in politics while 25 per cent (one in four) said they believe that their votes will not count. The remaining 12 per cent and 11 per cent were concerned about the security during the elections and said they do not believe in the credibility of the candidates, respectively.
Competence was also perceived as more important than zoning. Nigerians consider other factors to be more significant when choosing the country's president. In response to the question “What do you consider to be the most important criteria that should be applied in choosing/selecting the Nigerian President?”, 38 per cent of respondents answered “perceived competence.”
And, according to the poll, “one of the hottest topics in Nigeria’s political circles today is: Will President seek his party’s nomination for next year’s presidential elections? The buzz around the issue is easy to understand given the vast powers of the Presidency and President Goodluck Jonathan’s status as the sitting president.  
However, despite growing speculation and a burgeoning campaign by his supporters around the country, the president is still yet to throw his hat in the ring. However, various interest groups have sprung up pledging their support if Jonathan decides to run, while others insist that the zoning formula within his own ruling party should prevent him from running for President.
The survey conducted by NOI seems to indicate that an overwhelming proportion of Nigerians believe that Jonathan should run for President.
The highest proportion of respondents who think that Jonathan should run for President was from the South-East (89 per cent) and lowest proportion was from the North-West (62 per cent).
The results of this poll support the findings of a previous poll conducted by NOI Polls in April 2010, which found that Nigerians were largely unsupportive of the application of a zoning formula in selecting presidential candidates. To the question: “Do you think/agree that there should be a zoning formula for the emergence of presidential candidates in Nigeria?”, more than six in 10 (63 per cent) respondents answered “No”; 33 per cent responded in the affirmative while four per cent either didn’t know or refused to answer the question.
Source: Guardian

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