The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has released the final list of candidates for Presidential, Senate, and House of Representatives seats ahead of the 2023 general election.

Among the candidates cleared by INEC include the presidential candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu; Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); and Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP); among others.

The electoral umpire said all the 18 political parties fielded candidates and their running mates for the 2023 presidential election, adding that 1,101 candidates are vying for 109 senatorial seats.

INEC disclosed that 3,122 candidates are vying for the House of Representatives seats, making a total of 4,223 candidates contesting for 469 legislative positions.

It made the disclosure via a statement issued on Tuesday by the INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye.

Okoye noted that the final list of candidates for state elections would be published on October 4, 2022.

He stated: “The list published today contains the names of candidates validly nominated for national elections at the close of party primaries and the period earmarked for withdrawal and substitution of candidates.

READ ALSO: Buhari’s supporters: Obi lacks capacity for Nigeria’s Presidency

“The final list of candidates for state elections (Governorship and State Constituencies) will be published on 4th October 2022 as already indicated on the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 general election.

“We note the fact that not all the political parties conducted primaries in all the constituencies, submitted the particulars of candidates that emerged from valid primaries or substituted their candidates after fresh primaries within 14 days as provided in section 33 of the Electoral Act. This has led to numerous litigations, some of which are ongoing.

“Where the commission was served with court orders by aggrieved aspirants or candidates before the publication of this list, these have been indicated under the remark column.

“In summary, all the 18 political parties have fielded candidates and their running mates for the Presidential election. For legislative elections, 1,101 candidates are vying for 109 Senatorial seats and 3,122 candidates for Federal Constituencies i.e. House of Representatives seats, making a total of 4,223 candidates contesting for 469 legislative positions.

“In terms of gender distribution, 3,875 candidates are male, made up of 35 for Presidential and Vice Presidential, 1,008 for Senate and 2,832 for House of Representatives.

“Similarly, 381 females comprising 1 for Presidential, 92 for Senate, and 288 for House of Representatives are contesting. There are also 11 Persons with Disability (PWDs) in the race.

“The list for specific constituencies is published in each state where they are located while the comprehensive nationwide list has been uploaded to the commission’s website.

“We appeal to all political parties to channel any observations on the list of candidates to the commission and such must be signed by the National Chairman and Secretary of the political party and supported with an affidavit as provided in section 32(2) of the Electoral Act 2022,” the INEC official stated.

The Star