Nigeria Announces Election Time-Table

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the body charged with conducting the forthcoming elections in Nigeria recently announced its time-table.

According to the commission's programme, the National Assembly (Nigeria's equivalent of Congress) election will take place on April 12, 2003 while the Presidential and Gubernatorial (Governorship) elections take place a week later on April 19, 2003. April 26 and April 29, 2003 have been reserved for possible run-off for the Presidential and Gubernatorial elections.

The state Houses of Assembly elections are slated for May 3rd, 2003.

The whole exercise will kick off with the public display of voter's register scheduled for next month February.

It is expected that with the conclusion of the display of voters register exercise, the state Independent Electoral Commission will now be in a position to conduct the local government council (municipal) elections.

Elections in Nigeria are conducted on the basis of universal adult suffrage.

F.K. Martins
Head of Information
Embassy of Nigeria
Washington, D.C.
January 22, 2003