The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, has promised that the guidelines and regulations for the next general elections in 2023 will be ready 10 months before the elections proper.
In its Daily Bulletin released on Tuesday, the INEC boss said with the work being put in by the Commission, it would be possible to achieve all it’s set goals and give Nigerians a credible election in 2023.
Yakubu recalled that in 2019, the commission was “constrained by time due to the uncertainty that trailed the electoral legal framework, which forced the body to sign off on the regulations and guidelines on January 19, 2019, a few weeks to the election.
“But we hope that this time around, we will sign off on the regulations and guidelines at least 10 months before the next general election, which is very good progress for us,” he said.
Throwing more light on INEC’s ability to develop the guidelines and regulations on time, Yakubu explained that with the signing of the Electoral Act by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Commission had no reason not to come out with the guidelines on schedule.
“Our Election Project Plan (EPP) is ready and about to be published. The Strategic Plan is already completed and published. We also publish and gazette the guidelines and send the three documents to the stakeholders and general public next month,” he explained.