The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said it is reconsidering
participating in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.
The Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, stated this on Thursday when he
received a Joint International Election Observation Mission fielded by two
main American international civil agencies, the National Democratic
Institute, (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), at the
party headquarters in Abuja
Mr. Secondus disclosed that “We are yet to take the decision whether we
will participate or not, we are no longer confident in INEC or in our own
security.
He claimed that the party contested against the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Security agencies, not the All
Progressives Congress, (APC).
“In Ekiti state governorship election last Saturday we did not contest
with APC we contested with INEC and Security agencies,” Secondus said.
The PDP chairman described what happened in Ekiti State as not just
electoral fraud but robbery in connivance with INEC and security agencies.
He said that the party is consulting with its relevant organs in the
review of Ekiti election to reconsider their position on 2019 general
elections.
According to Secondus, a situation where bodies that should be neutral in
a contest are brazenly helping to manipulate the process in favour of one
party is antithetical to democracy and is a dangerous signal.
He said that there were clear indications for all to see that the ruling
APC is scheming to engineer more crisis in the land to enable them to
manipulate the electoral process in their favour in connivance with
security agencies.
“For us as an opposition party, we have lost confidence in INEC and
security agencies”
The National Organizing Security NOS of the party Col Austin Akobundu who
also briefed the visiting international agencies on Ekiti said the
election involved various electoral frauds through intimidation and ballot
snatching.
Akobundu said that INEC fraud was so transparent that it produced
conflicting figures of the result and had to pull it down from their
website.
While, the leader of the delegation Dr Pauline .H.Bakaer, President
Emeritus, Fund for Peace United States said that they were on the visit to
share ideas with the opposition party on their challenges ahead of the
2019 general elections.