Eighteen political parties have expressed interest to participate in the November sixth Anambra State governorship election and have scheduled to hold their primaries in line with the guideline of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.

Ekwi Ajide reports that the National Chairman of the Commission, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, disclosed this while addressing members of political parties at a consultative meeting in Abuja.

He reminded political parties of the importance of complying with the provisions of the law as well as the regulations governing the conduct of party primaries and nomination of candidates.

He urged them to ensure strict compliance with their party Constitutions, the law and INEC regulations and guidelines on party primaries in particular and the management of party affairs in general since electing good leaders begins with the quality of primaries conducted by political parties while the Commission will do its part to ensure that elections continue to improve in the country.

In his speech, the Chairman Inter-party Advisory Council, Dr. Leonard Nzenwa, expressed joy at the realization of the plan to expand voter access to polling units across the Country.

Dr. Nzenwa disclosed that Inter-Party Advisory Council is in advanced partnership talks with the Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Examiners of Nigeria to help strengthen capacity of political parties.