A former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, has faulted the exclusion of his party, African Democratic Congress (ADC) and the Labour Party (LP) from Saturday’s Rivers State House of Assembly by-election.
George described the development as worrisome, and demanded for explanation on the exclusion, saying there was importance of transparency and adherence to due process in the conduct of elections.
“I strongly believe the question Nigerians should ask now is this: why were major political parties disqualified from participating in the election?
“How can political parties be disqualified in this manner? Nigerians deserve clear explanations on the criteria applied and how the decisions were reached,” George said.
The PDP chieftain said political parties play a vital role in democratic governance and should be given fair opportunity to participate in the electoral process, in line with the law.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the state, Gabriel Yomere, said the three political parties would not participate in the Feb. 21 bye-election in Rivers, citing various reasons.
The made the announcement while speaking with representatives of security agencies in Port Harcourt on Friday.
Yomere said the ADC was excluded because it failed to upload primary results to the INEC portal at headquarters within a given period, and that the PDP did not even take part in the primaries, while the LP had litigation.
