By Racheal Ayodele The Labour Party, LP, has slammed the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for omitting the party’s l...
By Racheal Ayodele
The Labour Party, LP, has slammed the Independent National
Electoral Commission, INEC, for omitting the party’s logo on Lagos State ballot
papers for the Saturday election.
Recall that INEC had on Wednesday taken delivery of
sensitive materials for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections
scheduled for Saturday, February 25.
LP Chairman in the State, Dayo Ekong, who decried the
exclusion of the party’s logo on Senatorial and House of Representatives ballot
papers in a statement on Thursday, called on the INEC to either correct the
mistakes or reschedule the National Assembly election.
While calling on INEC to either correct what she described
as an anomaly, she said, ”As Nigerians prepare to go to the polls to vote a new
president and members of the Senate and House of Representatives on Saturday,
the LP is decrying the flagrant exclusion of its National Assembly candidates
on the ballot papers.
“This malicious ‘error’ was found out in Lagos this morning
during the routine inspection of election materials by my executive members. It
was at inspection that it was discovered that the L P was not listed for the
election for the Senate and House of Representatives. This is unacceptable and
a wicked way of disenfranchising Lagos State electorates.
“It is unimaginable that the Lagos electorate will only vote
for the Labour Party Presidential Candidate for the elections slated for
Saturday, Feb. 25, as INEC made no provision for the election of the Party’s
Senate and House of Representatives Candidates. We cannot accept this as we do
not believe that INEC made a mistake but rather a deliberate, malicious and
intentional act to disenfranchise our supporters from exercising their civic
rights, which is unacceptable.
”Further checks on the INEC website revealed that the names
of Lagos LP candidates were not uploaded even as the list and court orders for
the same were duly submitted to INEC and acknowledged. We have severally
pointed out the bias displayed by the State INEC REC towards our Party and his
increasing attacks on our leaders.”
The party, however, called on all stakeholders, lovers of
democracy, foreign observers and the international community to quickly wade
in.
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