Joash Amupitan, the chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, has revealed that the 2027 elections timetable is ready while he urged political parties to intensify mobilisation of eligible voters across Abuja, ahead of the February 21 council election.
He said this on Thursday in Abuja during the commission’s regular quarterly consultative meeting with leaders of political parties ahead of the election.
Mr Amupitan advised party leaders to mobilise voters to collect their Permanent Voter Cards. He warned political leaders and their supporters against hate speech, violence and vote-buying in the forthcoming election.
“Political parties are indispensable partners in deepening electoral participation. I, therefore, urge you to intensify your efforts in mobilising residents across the FCT area councils to collect their PVCs,” said Mr Amupitan.
He said that with the distribution exercise set to conclude on Feb. 10, the goal must be to ensure that no eligible voter is disenfranchised.
Mr Amupitan charged the parties to provide leadership by sensitising their supporters to reject hate speech, violence, and the scourge of vote-buying.
“Let me be clear, vote-buying is a subversion of the democratic will and a violation of the law. Any individual or group found engaging in this practice will face the full weight of the law,” Mr Amupitan said.
Regarding the 2027 elections, Mr Amupitan reiterated INEC’s call on the National Assembly to expedite the ongoing amendment to ensure a stable legal environment well ahead of the polls.
He said that the INEC had finalised the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2027 general elections.
“I have looked into the position of the Senate which sought to reduce the timeline from 360 days to 180 days. As a matter of fact, we are ready with our timetable. We are just hesitating because we wanted to see what the new reform would bring, but we are mindful of the time,” Mr Amupitan explained.
The INEC boss said the commission was hopeful that the new act would be passed as there was still going to be harmonisation by the national assembly, before presidential assent.
“Nevertheless, if it’s getting too delayed, we‘ll just go ahead and do whatever we want to do. The Senate on Wednesday passed the Electoral Act Amendment Bill and also set a conference committee to look at the bill,” he added.
(NAN)