The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is poised to conduct its national convention with just 811 delegates.
This move is to avoid running foul of the Act and to ensure it remains within the time frame specified for the submission of elective offices candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The party’s national convention has been scheduled for May 28-29, 2022.
The PDP commenced the conduct of the primaries to nominate its candidates for the 2023 general election on Sunday across the country.
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The Sunday primaries were for the purpose of electing its state House of Assembly and House of Representatives candidates while primaries for its senatorial candidates took place across the country on Monday, May 23, 2022. Section 84(8) of the Electoral Act, 2022, provides that delegates to vote at the indirect primaries and national convention of political parties to elect candidates for elections shall be those democratically elected for that purpose only.
Only one person can be elected as a national delegate from each local government area of the country, making it 774 in line with the total number of local government areas in the country.
Additionally, one person with disability is also nominated per state and the Federal Capital Territory, bringing the total delegates expected to vote at the national convention to 811.
The delegates emerged during the local government area congress conducted by the party on Tuesday, May 10.
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The PDP earlier announced that it would make use of only the three-man ad-hoc delegates elected from all the over 8,000 wards in the country and one elected national delegate per local government to pick its election candidates.
However, under the PDP’s Constitution, the three-man ad-hoc ward delegates can only participate in the election of candidates for State, National Assembly and gubernatorial positions and not participate in the national convention.
National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Debo Ologunagba, confirmed that the party would stick to the elected delegates in the conduct to the primaries and national convention in order to operate within the provisions of the Electoral Act.
