10 parties seek cancellation of NASS election in Kwara

Posted by admin Elections 2011, Kwara, State News Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Ten political parties, including the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Political Change (CPC), have jointly called for the cancellation of last Saturday’s National Assembly election in Kwara State, alleging that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) connived with the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to rig the election.

Citing a number of noticeable hitches in the conduct of the election, the political parties in a joint petition addressed to the INEC chairman, Professor Attahiru Jega, acknowledged the good intention of INEC to have a clean break from the past sad electoral experience, but regretted that the idea could not sail as evidenced by the wanton malpractices, fraud, intimidation of opponents, employment of fake electoral officials, and connivance of electoral officers in all the 16 LGAs of the state with the ruling PDP.

Above all, the coalition which also included the ANPP, DPP, NCP, NTP, ARP, DA, and RPN, in the petition alleged that the PDP openly induced voters on the queue with huge sums of money and Ankara.

In order instances, especially in the rural areas the petitioners further said corps members assisted in the illegal ballot paper stuffing.

“Multiple registrations that were done by the PDP people was not checkmated electronically as promised by INEC to the extent that double voting was employed in the villages, where already thumb printed ballot papers were stuffed and counted for the PDP, aged youths were accredited and thumb printed ballot papers from such were counted.”

“More worrisome was that unused ballot papers in April 2nd 2011 and called National Assembly election were unaccountable for by the state REC and electoral officers, the same were left in the custody of the electoral officers.

“The electoral officers, in each of the 16 LGAs of the state never declared balloting booths of the wards before the commencement of the accreditation and voting despite demands for such by the party agents, this was the case in the entire state.”

Further, the petitioners registered that, “in most cases we discovered that PDP agents in the cancelled 2nd April, 2011 elections suddenly became INEC returning officers in the just concluded elections. A good case is the case of wards Babaloma – Share polling booth 009,” adding that, “In all the polling centre’s across the state no declaration of accredited voters was done before voting commenced in majority of the polling centre’s contrary to the Electoral Act and electoral guidelines.

“Evidence of bought over corps members thumb printing ballot papers for the PDP abounds in Babaloma ward 1 Adio village. For instance, Dr Femi Ogunshola challenged INEC and corps members why it was only PDP agents that were allowed and admitted to sit in each of the polling units, others party agents were driven away.”

Giving on the spot account and evidences of what it described as monumental fraud of the National Asssembly election in Kwara, the petitioners prayed “that the elections into the National Assembly of 9th April, 2011 be cancelled as same were conducted contrary to the electoral guidelines and in contravention of the Wlectoral Act,” alleging the election was rigged by INEC for the ruling PDP in the state.

-Tribunewp_posts