Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is compelled to postpone the two-day post-election retreat with political parties scheduled to begin today, Monday, July 4, 2011, at Tinapa Resort, Calabar.

INEC called the summit, which is facilitated by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), to review the April 2011 general elections and draw lessons that could be applied to improve the conduct of future elections. Unfortunately, representatives of some political parties within the Inter-Parties Advisory Committee (IPAC), upon arrival in Calabar, have made demands on the Commission that are rather unreasonable and unfortunate. These demands were made on the floor of the meeting, without any prior case being made to INEC. Therefore, the Commission could not accede to these as preconditions for the retreat.

In the circumstance, INEC had no option than to request that the retreat be postponed to a more auspicious time for all concerned. The Commission wishes to extend both its gratitude and regrets to our partner, IFES. We also appeal to all stakeholders – including political parties – to continue to show commitment to exploring ways of consolidating the modest gains of the April 2011 general elections.