Ikonne: PDP Has 14 Days To Conduct Fresh Primaries
Following the sudden death of Prof. Eleazar Uchenna Ikonne, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia State, Wednesday, some lawyers have said that the Electoral Act 2022, provides a 14-day window, within which the party must conduct a fresh primary to pick his replacement.
His words: “On the question of what the law provides in the circumstances of the demise, section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022 anticipates this eventuality.
“That’s why the section explicitly provides that where the candidate of a political party dies before the date fixed for an election, the party shall within 14 days of the death of the candidate hold fresh primary election to produce and submit a new candidate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the election.
“Therefore, since the governorship election is fixed for March 11, 2023, there are more than enough days within which the PDP can hold a fresh primary election to select a new gubernatorial candidate in Abia State, and submit the name to INEC as the party’s candidate in the election.”
He warned that the party must be mindful that it has only 14 days to do that because it begins to count from the date of the death of Prof. Ikonne.
Also in agreement with him, human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, reiterated that by virtue of section 33 of the Electoral Act, the party must hold another primary within 14 days.
“By virtue of Section 33 of the Electoral Act, the PDP has to hold a primary within 14 days to elect another candidate change and submit the name of the person elected at the fresh primary to INEC to replace the deceased. This is the position of the law,” he declared.
Similarly, Festus Ogun, also a lawyer, agreed that by virtue of Section 33 of the Electoral Act, 2022 upon the death of a candidate, a political party shall within 14 days of the occurrence of death hold a fresh primary election and shall produce a fresh candidate to INEC.
“The implication is that the PDP shall, upon notifying INEC and within 14 days, conduct a fresh gubernatorial primary in Abia State in accordance with its Constitution and the Electoral Act wherein a new governorship candidate will emerge.
“The deputy governorship candidate’s nomination terminates with the death of Prof. Ikonne. It is, therefore, not the law that the Abia deputy governorship candidate shall automatically be nominated as the governorship candidate of the party.
“Section 187 of the 1999 Constitution provides that a governorship candidate can only be deemed to be validly nominated if he actually nominates a deputy. Further, a deputy governorship candidate can only be deemed elected if the governor that actually nominated him wins the election.
“Thus, for there to be a valid nomination, the PDP must conduct a fresh primary to produce a governorship candidate and the said candidate shall freshly nominate his own deputy, who may also be Prof. Ikonne’s deputy or any other person,” he explained.
