- We’re independent–Dazang
From Taiwo Amodu, Abuja
THE Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) has frowned at what it called the piecemeal release of results of the March 19 Rivers State and National Assembly rerun by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Before it announced suspension of results and the entire exercise, it had released nine state constituency and one federal constituency results.
In the results made available on Tuesday and signed by the State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr. Aniedi Ikoiwak, the PDP maintained its lead by winning three federal constituency, while it shared two state constituency seats with its main rival, the All Progressives Congress.
But, speaking with newsmen yesterday, PDP Deputy National Chairman, Uche Secondus alleged that the electoral body was taking instruction from the ruling party on what to do with the outcome of the Rivers rerun which he claimed his party won overwhelmingly .
Appraising conduct of the elections by INEC since assumption of office by the Commission national chairman, Professor Mahmoud Yaquub, Secondus expressed concern that all the elections conducted by the electoral body since the assumption of office by the latter and the present administration were inconclusive. It cited the Kogi, Bayelsa and the recent Rivers rerun.
Secondus said:” Now in Rivers, because PDP won all the election despite the intimidation by the military, the results are being released piecemeal because APC has failed woefully in all the constituencies.”
The PDP deputy chairman, who accused INEC of turning itself to a parastatal of the APC further alleged that the commission has not fixed a date for fresh election because it was waiting for instruction from APC.
“They haven’t fixed a date for rerun because of APC. INEC is now being supervised by the leadership of APC and the Buhari administration.
“ They are no longer independent and we are losing confidence in INEC. In the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) election date was announced but suddenly because they knew APC was going to lose and because of that, they postponed the election after we had spent money and time.
“ All these show that INEC is now a parastatal of APC. The danger is that this current leadership that will conduct the general elections in 2019 has been compromised.
But reacting in a telephone interview with Daily Sun, INEC Deputy Director of Publicity and Voters’ Education, Nick Dazang, justified the piecemeal announcement of results said:
“The Comission is not under the influence or direction of any party/interests. As at the time the re-run elections were suspended, most were inchoate or at different levels of completion. And you can only return an election/announce results where elections are concluded.
“ßIt is therefore inconceivable for INEC to announce all results.”