Four parties present ‘underage’ presidential candidates, risk disqualification

Although the identities of the parties are still kept under wraps, our correspondent learnt that they violated the law and might be disqualified by the Independent National Electoral Commission. “A few parties have nominated candidates below the mandatory age of 35 as presidential and vice-presidential candidates. We have drawn the attention of the parties concerned to the breach of the constitutional requirement ahead of the publication of the full list of presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2019 general elections,” the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, said. Speaking with SUNDAY PUNCH in Abuja, the National Commissioner of INEC, Prof. Anthonia Okoosi-Simbine, said four parties had flouted the law by presenting presidential candidates whose ages were below 35. She, however, said she would not reveal the names of the people and the parties involved. Okoosi-Simbine defended the registration of many parties, saying the commission did not want to disqualify people from participating in the electoral process. According to her, the number of political parties and candidates will determine the nature of ballot papers in next year’s elections. She stated, “With regard to the number of political parties, there was a time when we had a few political parties. It was the civil society organizations, essentially, with a court judgment, that actually fought to open the political space so that as many parties as possible could come on board. “Honestly, many parties are not really a problem once the parties are actively engaged in the political processes. The issue about the increase in the number of parties is that of parties who are just there for the sake of being there. We should not engage in political exclusion by saying that we will not register or allow people who want to associate.” The national commissioner added, “In terms of how this relates to the ballot paper, INEC is already working on redesigning and finding a way out. The size of the ballot paper, most of the time, will depend on the number of contestants for a particular election in a particular constituency.”]]>