Abuja – Nigeria’s electoral body said on Saturday it was postponing the 2023 presidential and parliamentary polls by one week, due to a delay in passing a new electoral law.
The new legislation allows electronic transfer of results, a development that could improve transparency and help prevent fraud in a country where allegations of rigging have often plagued polls.
President Muhammadu Buhari, who is to step down next year after serving two four-year terms, signed the amended election bill on Friday, more than seven months after it was passed by the Senate.
ALSO READ | Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari approves election law to improve transparency
Presidential elections were scheduled to take place on February 18, 2023.
It is a legal requirement that, 360 days before the vote, INEC releases a notice of election.
But it was unable to do so before the president approved the amendment, and the 360-day period has now passed.
“Accordingly, the presidential and national assembly elections will now (be held) on Saturday 25th February 2023,” the chairman of Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission Mahmood Yakubu told reporters.
“Governorship and state house assembly elections” would then be held two weeks later, on March 11, 2023, he said.
Setting a new electoral calendar will also affect campaigning, which can start 150 days before elections, and has to stop 24 hours ahead of voting day.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Source: AFP
Picture: Pexels
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
