Apparently disturbed by various interpretations to section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 regarding election results, the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INCE) is set to release fresh guidelines aimed at clarifying the confusion in that section.
INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, made the disclosure at the second quarterly meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (RECs), on Tuesday ,in Abuja.
“Pursuant to our powers to issue regulations, guidelines and manuals to give effect to the provisions of the Electoral Act and for its administration, the Commission is working on a supplement to the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections 2022 to provide clarity on the review of declaration and return at elections.”
“As soon as the Commission takes a decision, perhaps as early as this week, the supplementary Regulations and Guidelines will be uploaded to our website and other platforms for public information”, Yakubu stated.
The INEC Chairman reminded the RECs of their role in implementing policies at the state level, stressing that elections are a multi-stakeholder responsibility that requires knowledge and commitment.
” I am glad to note that we now have RECs in all the States of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). I wish to remind you that your work does not begin as the General Election approaches. You are full-time Commissioners. There are policy and procedural issues already determined by the Commission which you need to implement without prompting from the Headquarters in Abuja.”
“Already, the Commission has announced the dates for a number of elections and electoral activities. For the next one year (16th August 2025 to 8th August 2026), the Commission is holding five major elections.”
“These are the bye-elections in 12 States of the Federation on 16th August 2025, the Anambra State Governorship election on 8th November 2025, the Area Council elections in the FCT on 21st February 2026, the Ekiti Governorship election on 20th June 2026 and the Osun State Governorship election on 8th August 2026.”
Yakubu further tasked them on the need to build the capacity of their staff to improve on their knowledge of new policies and practical innovations introduced by the Commission to improve electoral process.
The meeting with RECs is coming after the Commission’s consultative meetings with leaders of Political Parties, Civil Society Organisations, the Media and the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES), last week.
