CROSIEC releases timetable for 2023 council polls

Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) has released the timetable for 2023 elections across the 18 councils.

CROSIEC Chairman, Dr. Mike Ushie, made this known to newsmen, yesterday, in his office in Calabar.

He recalled that on May 30, 2022, the commission issued a notice of elections in compliance with the Electoral Act of 2022 recently passed into law.

He said party primaries would commence October 1 and end October 21, 2022, followed by the collection and submission of the list of proposed candidates from October 24 to November 24.

Ushie further explained that submission of nomination forms would start on November 28 and end on December 2, 2022. Campaigns by political parties, he added, would follow on December 27 and end on May 23, 2023, while the final election would hold on May 24, 2023, in all the councils.

The chairman, who urged parties to play by the rules with the greater interest of the state at heart, said people should disregard talks from different quarters claiming that conducting elections next year is illegal.

He said: “We had a meeting with political parties and we made the guidelines available to them. The issue is that when you want to start something like this, people will come up with their opinions, which may not be inline with what is accepted.

“The question we should ask is if the time is right for council polls. The law of every state stipulates the tenure of every local government chairman. If the council chairmen were just barely one year in office and you want to do the elections, questions would be asked but the tenure of the chairmen is coming to an end in June and the election is on May 24.

“It is not after they have left, we now enthrone a caretaker committee before electing new chairmen, these parameters should also be considered.”

He also advised political parties on the need to ensure internal peace, warning: “If you continue to fight and expect to spring surprises on the day of election or petition CROSIEC, we are waiting for you.”