This is contained in the outcome of INEC’s regular management weekly meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Sam Olumekun, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, in a statement after the meeting, said that the review of its preparations for the forthcoming off-cycle Anambra election was among issues discussed at the meeting.

“The public may recall that in line with the provision of Section 28(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, the commission published the Notice of Election on 13th November 2024, over 360 days before the date fixed for the election.

“By the provision of the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the election, the conduct of primaries for nomination of candidates by political parties commences in the next two weeks i.e. 20th March 2025 and ends on 10th April 2025.

“So far, 12 out of the 19 registered political parties in the country have submitted the detailed schedules of their primaries. As agreed at our last consultative meeting with Political Parties held in January, doing so early will enable the Commission to plan for the effective monitoring of the primaries in line with the provision of Section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022,” Olumekun said.

He said that the seven parties that are yet to submit the required information should do so in earnest.

He also urged political parties to adhere strictly to their proposed schedules.

“Sudden changes to the dates, venues and modes of the primaries lead to avoidable demobilisation and remobilisation of our monitoring staff, thereby disrupting the commission’s workflow. This also adds to the cost of monitoring primaries and the overall conduct of elections and electoral activities,” Olumekun said.