The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed March 16, 2013 for Abuja Area Councils Elections.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner (INEC) FCT State office, Dr. Godwin M. Kwanga, stated this at a press briefing held, yesterday in Abuja.
The time-table the elections released by the commission indicated that the conduct of party primaries commenced on October 9 and will end on the December 31, 2012.
The commission said that the collection of forms? FORM CF 011(Affidavit/personal particulars of candidates and Form CF002) (list of candidates by political parties) will commence on November 29 and end on December 30, 2012, while the collection of nomination forms? will start on January 7 and end on January 10, 2013.
List of nominated candidates for the area council elections will be published on the February 13, 2013, while submission of names of party agents to the electoral officer will start from March 5 till March 8, 2013.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner also reaffirmed the commitment of INEC to deliver free and fair elections and added that the presence of domestic and international observers will give representatives of political parties at the polling centers confidence to compel compliance where electoral officials deviate from standard regulations.
He said “As you will observe on the time table for activities for the 2013 Area council elections, the workload requires the involvement and understanding of all stakeholders in our democratic enterprise. While we don’t expect any deviation, we should expect the support of the political parties in making sure that they participate in the electoral process properly and adequately.”?