Preparatory to the National Assembly and state assembly
elections expected to hold February 14, the Independent National Electoral
Commission (INEC) will commence the verification of the credentials submitted
by the political parties on behalf of their respective candidates. In the same
manner, the verification exercise for presidential candidates of 10 political
parties for the February 14 presidential election is expected to hold between
January 16 and 18 next year. INEC, it was gathered, would be using the
provisions of the constitution and the Electoral Act for the screening and
verification of the documentation presented by the various candidates of the
political parties. In this regard, INEC would set up committees for the
verification of candidates vying for national and state assemblies and members
of these committees will be visiting the states to verify the personal
particulars of the candidates between January 4 and 14. However, the
presidential and governorship verification exercise as well as the clearance
committee will conduct its screening at the commission’s headquarters, Abuja,
from January 16 to 18.
As penalty for candidates with false credentials, INEC is threatening to impose a fine of N500,000 on parties that present such candidates. The guidelines for the screening and verification exercise were posted on the INEC website yesterday. The guidelines state: “Parties are requested to ensure that the candidates they intend to sponsor at the elections are available with the originals of all their credentials at the respective venues for the exercise, in case they are required. “The attention of parties and their candidates is also drawn to Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2006, which disqualifies any candidate who provides false information in his/her affidavit (Form CF 001) from contesting elections. “Furthermore, a political party which presents such a candidate that is guilty of the offence, is liable to a fine up to N500, 000.” The INEC form 0001 that contains the personal details are displayed in all the state and local government offices of the commission in the constituencies of the candidates. The guidelines further state that “any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by any candidate is false, or that the candidate is not qualified, or should be disqualified from contesting the elections should notify the commission in writing within seven days of this publication”.
As penalty for candidates with false credentials, INEC is threatening to impose a fine of N500,000 on parties that present such candidates. The guidelines for the screening and verification exercise were posted on the INEC website yesterday. The guidelines state: “Parties are requested to ensure that the candidates they intend to sponsor at the elections are available with the originals of all their credentials at the respective venues for the exercise, in case they are required. “The attention of parties and their candidates is also drawn to Section 32 of the Electoral Act, 2006, which disqualifies any candidate who provides false information in his/her affidavit (Form CF 001) from contesting elections. “Furthermore, a political party which presents such a candidate that is guilty of the offence, is liable to a fine up to N500, 000.” The INEC form 0001 that contains the personal details are displayed in all the state and local government offices of the commission in the constituencies of the candidates. The guidelines further state that “any person who has reasonable grounds to believe that any information given by any candidate is false, or that the candidate is not qualified, or should be disqualified from contesting the elections should notify the commission in writing within seven days of this publication”.
ThisDay, (Online)
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