INEC decries ‘premature’ campaigns for 2027 elections

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Mahmood Yakubu, on Thursday decried the “premature” campaigns for the 2027 general elections by political parties. Yakubu spoke at a One-Day Stakeholders’ Roundtable on Premature Political Campaigns organized by The Electoral Institute (TEI) in Abuja.

The INEC chairman, who cited Section 94(1) of the Electoral Act 2022, said such premature campaigns by parties and their candidates two years before the elections undermine the Commission’s ability to track campaign finance limits for the polls.

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Section 94 (1) of the Electoral Act stipulates a 150-day campaign period for elections.

The INEC boss, however, clarified that the electoral act did not spell out sanctions for breach of the provision.
In his keynote address, a former INEC chairman, Attahiru Jega, noted that premature campaigns pose a serious threat to elections.

“Premature election campaigns are actually being perpetrated by premature democrats,” he stated.