What transpired in the 2019 Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly Elections in Zamfara State is still fresh in our minds. This is so because it was an election in which the ruling party APC was declared not to have participated because of its non-adherence to the electoral act.
The APC failed to meet the deadline for the conduct of primary elections as stipulated by INEC and was barred from participating.
Two years after, the same incidence is being repeated in Kaduna. According to the time table served to parties and the public by Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission(KADSIECOM) 10th April to 10th May were slated for the primary elections.
However, the APC has not conducted primary elections in some local governments, like Zaria, while, others there were supposed to be rerun elections. Both fresh and rerun elections were slated for 12th May, which is a day after the deadline.
However, the party, later on, reversed its decision to hold such elections on the 12th of May.
The provisions of the election laws in Kaduna State are quite similar to that of the Electoral Act of the Federation 2010 as amended. Section 26(1) of the KADSIECOM Law of 2018 states that “Every political party shall not later than 30 days before the date appointed for election under the provisions of this Law submit to the Commission on the prescribed forms the list of the candidates the party proposes to sponsor at the elections.”
But unlike the Electoral Act, the KADSIECOM Law is silent on primary elections.
This dilemma raises the question, are we witnessing a repeat of what happened in Zamfara in Kaduna or does the APC still have the time and legal avenue to make amends?
Abdulhaleem Ishaq Ringim sent this from Zaria
