The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has officially announced the postponement of the 2019 General election earlier scheduled for Saturday, February 16th, 2019 and Saturday 2nd of March 2019.
The Chairman of the commission Professor Mahmood Yakubu made the the announcement at about 3:00am on Saturday at an emergency meeting with stakeholders, international and local observers.
In his statement he revealed that the decision to postpone the elections was necessary to address identified challenges and deliver successful elections.
The new date for the Presidential and National Assembly elections is now Saturday 23rd February 2019, while the date for the Governorship, State house of Assembly and Federal Capital territory area council elections is now Saturday 9th March 2019.
Read full statement below:
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC met of Friday 15th of February 2019 and reviewed its preparations for the 2019 general elections scheduled for Friday 16th of February 2019 and Saturday 2nd of March 2019.
Following a careful review of the implementation of its logistics and operational plan and the determination to conduct free fair and credible elections, the commission came to the conclusion that proceeding with the election as scheduled is no longer feasible.
Consequently, the commission has decided to reschedule the Presidential and National Assembly elections to Saturday 23rd February 2019. Furthermore the Governorship, State house of Assembly and Federal Capital territory area council elections are rescheduled to Saturday 9th March 2019.
This will afford the commission the opportunity to address identified challenges in other to maintain the quality of our elections.
This was a difficult decision for the commission to take but necessary for the successful delivery of elections and the consolidation of our democracy.
The commission will meet with key stakeholders to update them on this development by 2pm on Saturday 16th February at the Abuja international conference centre.
See a signed copy of the statement below:
Check out video:
What are your thoughts on this postponement?
