The Imo state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has lamented the irregularities in the Saturday’s Imo Council election, saying that it was an organized fraud.
The Imo State PDP Chairman, Austine Nwachukwu said in Owerri while reacting to the conduct of the elections that “We have today witnessed the murder of democracy. The purported local government elections in Imo State today, September 21, 2024, is nothing but a show of shame, an organized fraud, and an unprecedented rape of democracy.
“We can boldly tell that there was no election anywhere in the State today. As of 4 pm on a supposed election day, Imo people witnessed with grief the absence of sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials at virtually all the polling units across the entire State, even as electoral officers were not sighted anywhere near voting centers.
“Frustrated and disappointed, voters who had waited so long to cast their ballots to no avail retired to their respective homes. In a rather shocking development, the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) instead delivered the sensitive electoral materials to APC leaders and cronies at various LGAs.
“Recall that four days ago, the PDP in Imo State had raised alarm over a plot by the APC administration to rig the election, with ISIEC criminally flouting the electoral act and its own guidelines.
It is on record that up till today, the election day, ISIEC did not release the list of candidates for the election, nor did the commission publish the voter register at the polling units as the law requires. There was no communication or meeting whatsoever with political parties, the candidates, and other stakeholders regarding the election. That is the height of their criminality.
“Also, just a day before the election, no one knew who the ISIEC electoral officers were and how the ad-hoc staff were selected. The commission never advertised applications for its ad-hoc roles. This is dubious and undemocratic. The anti-people manner in which the Hope Uzodimma administration has gone about the local government elections is clear proof that the government has totally failed the people and performed abysmally in all aspects of governance. If not why are they scared of the ballot? A government in touch with the people will not be scared of them. They are a disgrace to democratic governance,” he said.
