Presidential Candidates Emerge Latest Dec 8
From Kola Ologbondiyan in Abuja, 06.21.2006
ThisDay newspaper Lagos
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=51075
If the 2007 general elections will commence on April 8 as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), all the registered political parties will have up till December 8 to submit, to the commission, the list of candidates they propose to sponsor at the elections.
According to Section 32 subsection 1 of the Electoral Act 2006 passed by both chambers of the National Assembly and said to have been assented to by President Olusegun Obasanjo, "every political party shall not later than 120 days before the date appointed for a general election" submit its list of candidates to the commission. Entitled "Submission of list of candidates and their affidavits by political parties," under Part 4 of the Act and marked the `Procedure at Election,' this section contrasted with Section 21 subsection 1 of the Electoral Act 2002 which gave political parties the mandate of 60 days before the date appointed for election to submit the list of their candidates. Subsection 5 of Section 21 in the Electoral Act 2002 which prescribed that if the court determined that any of the information contained in the affidavit sworn to by the candidates was false, the court should give an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election, and if already elected the court should issue an order vacating the seat.
This provision is however modified in subsection 5 of Section 32 of Electoral Act 2006 which states that "if the court determines that any of the information contained in the affidavit is false the court shall issue an order disqualifying the candidate from contesting the election."
Subsection 6 of Section 21 of the 2002 Act which granted the Attorney-General of the Federation the powers to initiate criminal proceedings against such a candidate and if convicted sentenced to a fine of N200,000 or imprisonment of two years or both was expunged in the 2006 Act.Subsection 6 of the latest Act however provides that "the political party which presents the name of a candidate who fails to meet the qualifications stipulated in this Section (32) "shall be guilty of an offence and on conviction shall be liable to a maximum fine of N500,000.00. But Sub-section 7 of the 2002 Act which provided for a similar offence.
Under the 2006 Act, the nomination of candidates for an election will be done in writing by the number of persons prescribed by INEC and whose names must appear on the register of voters in the constituency while under the 2002 Act, it only provided that no person shall nominate more than one person in an election.
On the controversial changing of candidates before elections, the 2006 Electoral Act provided in Section 34 that "a political party intending to change any of its candidates for any election shall inform the commission (INEC) of such change in writing not later than 60 days to the election" unlike the 2002 Act which provided for not later than 30 days to the date of election.
Presidential Candidates Emerge Latest Dec 8
Linear Mode
