All 18 presidential candidates on the final list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, have cases instituted against them in the courts, the electoral umpire said yesterday.

The Commission blamed the political parties for not observing internal democracy in the nomination of their candidates.

INEC made the observations at the close of a two-day capacity-building workshop on its processes, innovation and preparations for the 2023 general elections and critical issues in the Electoral Act 2022 in Lagos.

It said that the development was not good for the electoral process.

Acknowledging that the nomination of candidates remained internal affair for political parties’, INEC said it has the obligation to monitor the procedure to ensure compliance with the extant laws.