The Coalition of United Political Parties, CUPP, Sunday, threatened to resume electioneering campaigns in the country ahead of Saturday’s rescheduled Presidential and National Assembly elections, Igbere TV reports.
This is coming barely 24hours after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) barred all political parties from resuming with campaigns despite having postponed the 2019 polls by one week.
Igbere TV reports that INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had on Saturday, during a meeting with stakeholders in Abuja, announced that the window for campaign remains closed, in accordance with the existing INEC’s February 14 time table.
Reacting, however, Spokesperson for the CUPP, Ikenga Ugochinyere, directed all members of the coalition to resume campaigns immediately till midnight of Thursday, February 21.
Ugochinyere argued that the directive is in line with existing Electoral Acts, thereby contradicting INEC’s earlier directive to all political parties to stop campaigns.
The full statement reads,
In view of the provisions of the Section 99 of the Electoral Act , the over 51 Member parties of the Coalition of United Political Parties(CUPP) hereby directs all members to return to the campaigns fields and recommence campaigns and end by midnight of Thursday 21st February, 2019 as required by Law.
Section 99(1) of the Electoral Act provides that public campaigns shall end 24 hours prior to the day of Polling.
It is therefore wrong to expect that political parties will stop campaigns on 14th February for Polls that will open on 23rd February.
It is unlawful and statutorily wrong to curtail the clear intendment of this Section of the Electoral Act which is clear and unambiguous.
Campaigning until 24 hours prior to the day of polling is a statutory right of parties and cannot be taken away, curtailed or abridged by any executive fiat. INEC cannot on its own accord limit the period of campaigns as it is regulated by law.
Member parties are hereby directed to continue campaigns from tomorrow and focus on voter remobilization and ensure that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is elected and declared winner of the Presidential election.
