Vanguard
2 March 2011
TODAY is a special day in the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC's) 2011 polls calender. Going by the election timetable, the electoral umpire will undertake two major tasks today: Publication of official register of voters for election (Section 20 of the Electoral Act) and publication of list of nominated candidates for National Assembly Election (Section 34).
As of press time, it was not clear if the INEC would publish a comprehensive voters' register as well as federal legislature candidates' list.
A host of candidates and would-be candidates across the 63 political parties and across the 36 states of the country are locked in legal fisticuffs following the acrimonious primaries and imposition of candidates in the parties. INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega cried out last week that a deluge of court cases from parties and politicians was hampering preparations and might hurt the polls mortally. Thus, at a time the INEC is expected to publish the final list of National Assembly contenders, whatever list the commission publishes today will still be subject to what happens in the law courts.
Relatedly, publication of the comprehensive voters' register still has a lot of question marks. A flurry of hitches and controversies had attended compilation of the list. There were allegations of multiple registration and listing of foreigners, etc.
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