More facts are beginning to emerge on how the country’s political parties voted during the meeting its leadership had with the Independent National Electoral Commission on the desirability or otherwise of changing the dates for the 2015 general elections.
The meeting, which was held on Saturday at the headquarters of INEC in Abuja, saw the majority of the parties supporting the postponement of the election.
Giving an insight into the voting pattern on Monday, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Movement, Bashir Ibrahim, said 14 out of the country’s 28 political parties voted in support of the shifting of the elections.
Ibrahim said while two abstained from voting, 10 political parties supported the country sticking to the initial dates of February 14 and 28 for the election.
The 10 parties listed as part of the progressives coalition, which voted in support of the retention of the initial dates, included the PDM, African Peoples Alliance, KOWA Party, Mega Progressive Peoples Party and Social Democratic Party.
Others were the African Democratic Congress, Hope Democratic Party, Democratic Peoples Party, Accord Party and United Progressives Party.
At the top of the list of parties in support of the shifting of the election as highly expected, was the ruling party at the centre and in most states of the federation, the Peoples Democratic Party.
Sources at the meeting said the PDP had the backing of parties such as the Unity Party of Nigeria, the Labour Party, Alliance for Democracy and Action Alliance.
It was not clear as at press time which of the parties failed to vote at the meeting.
The elections was eventually postponed to March 28 and April 11.
While the presidential and National Assembly elections will take place on March 28, the governorship and state Assemblies polls will hold on April 11.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said security reasons accounted for the shift in the dates of the elections.