As
the campaigns for the Edo State governorship election intensify, the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has disclosed that it
had already started tracking the campaign spendings of political parties
and their candidates.
The commission told LEADERSHIP that its staff could examine the books of the parties without prior notice over the campaign spendings.
The electoral body also stated that it was engaging the political parties over violent campaigns, adding that it was irrevocably committed to establishing an Electoral Offences Commission/Tribunal.
The two major parties in Edo Guber election are the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose candidates are Godwin Obaseki and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, respectively.
While INEC has the statutorily responsibility of monitoring election campaign spendings, the monies generated for campaign purposes have always been shrouded in secrecy.
But according to section 91 of the Electoral Act, the maximum election expense to be incurred by a governorship candidate for an election is N200 million.
According to section 92 of the Electoral Act “(2) election expenses incurred by a political party for the management or the conduct of an election shall be determined by the Commission in consultation with the political parties.
“(3) (a) election expenses of a political party shall be submitted to the commission in separate audited return with six months after an election and such return shall be signed by the political party’s auditors and countersigned by the chairman of the party and be supported by a sworn affidavit by the signatories as to the correctness of its contents.”
Any party that breaches the section will, upon conviction, be liable to a maximum fine of N1,000,000 and in the case of failure to submit an accurate audited return within the stipulated period, the court may impose a maximum penalty of N200,000 per day on any party for the period after the return was due until it is submitted to the commission.
Culled from Leadership
The commission told LEADERSHIP that its staff could examine the books of the parties without prior notice over the campaign spendings.
The electoral body also stated that it was engaging the political parties over violent campaigns, adding that it was irrevocably committed to establishing an Electoral Offences Commission/Tribunal.
The two major parties in Edo Guber election are the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), whose candidates are Godwin Obaseki and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, respectively.
While INEC has the statutorily responsibility of monitoring election campaign spendings, the monies generated for campaign purposes have always been shrouded in secrecy.
But according to section 91 of the Electoral Act, the maximum election expense to be incurred by a governorship candidate for an election is N200 million.
According to section 92 of the Electoral Act “(2) election expenses incurred by a political party for the management or the conduct of an election shall be determined by the Commission in consultation with the political parties.
“(3) (a) election expenses of a political party shall be submitted to the commission in separate audited return with six months after an election and such return shall be signed by the political party’s auditors and countersigned by the chairman of the party and be supported by a sworn affidavit by the signatories as to the correctness of its contents.”
Any party that breaches the section will, upon conviction, be liable to a maximum fine of N1,000,000 and in the case of failure to submit an accurate audited return within the stipulated period, the court may impose a maximum penalty of N200,000 per day on any party for the period after the return was due until it is submitted to the commission.
Culled from Leadership
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