The National Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu has disclosed that 37 political parties are fielding candidates in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Anambra State.
Yakubu disclosed this during the Quarterly Consultative meeting with the media on Tuesday at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
The Chairman said the number of candidates in the Anambra election is historic as it is the largest in the history of elections in the country.
He also described the preparations for the elections in Anambra as the quietest given the recent history of the state.
The INEC chairman said 6200 smart card readers will be deployed to the state and 5200 of the number have been successfully tested.
Also, he stated that 46 observers have been accredited for the Anambra poll. Accreditation of media will come a week to the election he said.They include civil society and international observers.
Meanwhile, INEC has warned politicians to desist from illegal campaigns ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Yakubu who issued the warning said “Fixing the dates and release of timetable does not mean commencement of political campaign.
“I want to use this opportunity to draw the attention of political parties and politicians that are already going round the country campaigning that INEC, the only agency empowered to release schedule of activities, has not done so.
“Anything that anybody does now in that regard is illegal, against the law. They should wait for the timetable of the elections,” Yakubu said.
Speaking on the Senator Dino Melaye’s recall process, the INEC chairman asserted that once the legal hurdles are cleared, the commission will “proceed courageously” with the process as citizens must have the right to recall.
