INEC threatens to disqualify some presidential candidates, give reasons

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has threatened to disqualify the presidential candidates of some political partie...

The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has threatened to disqualify the presidential candidates of some political parties due to their age.

INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu issued the threat yesterday while accusing some political parties of submitting underaged candidates for the presidential race.

Speaking at a capacity building for journalists in Abuja, the INEC boss said the Commission discovered that some nominated candidates were below the mandatory age of thirty-five years for presidential and vice presidential candidates.

According to Mahmood, "A few parties have nominated candidates below the mandatory age of thirty-five (35) years for as presidential and vice presidential candidates," he said.

"We have drawn the attention of the parties concerned to the breach of the constitutional requirement ahead of the publication of the full list of presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2019 general elections.

"So far, INEC has successfully implemented seven out of the 14 activities strictly on schedule, including the conduct of party primaries for all elections and the processes of nomination of candidates.

"We did not, and will never, tolerate any breach of the strict timelines provided for in the timetable for the elections.

"At the end of the period for the substitution and withdrawal of candidates for the presidential election, a total of 73 political parties have now filed their nominations.

"Even so, a few parties have nominated candidates below the mandatory age of 35 years for as presidential and vice presidential candidates.

"For National Assembly elections, a total of 1,848 candidates (1,615 male and 233 female) are vying for 109 Senatorial seats while 4,635 candidates (4,066 male and 569 female) are competing for the 360 seats in the House of Representatives.

"Similarly, the full list of candidates and their political parties will be published for public information in line with the Commission's timetable and schedule of activities.

"As for state elections, a total of 1,068 candidates, 980 male and 88 female, are contesting for 29 Governorship positions with 805 male and 263 female deputy governorship candidates.

"The commission is working on the list of candidates nominated by political parties for the 991 State Assembly constituencies as well as the 68 Area Council Chairmen and Councillors for the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.

"The full details will also be published for public information in line with our timetable and schedule of activities. Unfortunately, we have also witnessed some of the most acrimonious party primaries in our recent history.

"Internal party democracy is still a source of concern to our electoral progress. So far, the Commission has been joined in 396 pending actions in various courts across the country arising from the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates by political parties.

"We have similarly received 302 requests for Certified True Copies, CTC, of documents, mainly our monitoring reports of party primaries and copies of personal particulars of candidates.

"These requests are obviously a prelude to more court actions. In addition, we have also received 52 petitions and protests from aggrieved party aspirants.

"The implication of these challenges is that as we prepare for the General Elections, we are also going to grapple with pre-election litigations.

"Parties that fail to respect the democratic process in selecting candidates during primary elections lose the moral right to complain about secondary elections," he added.