LG Poll: CROSIEC Constitution, Guidelines Fraught With Illegality, Says PDP
Judex OKORO
The Cross River chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the constitution of the state electoral umpire and the guidelines released by the commission is fraught with illegality meant to undermine conduct of council election in the state.
The party noted that the individuals that constitute the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) were card-carrying members of the state's ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and cannot be trusted to midwife fair and credible council polls on October 26, 2024.
In a statement by the chapter chairman, Venatius Ikem, Esq, he said constitution of the members is a deliberate strategy by APC to manipulate the electoral process and entrench its dominance at the grassroots level, adding that it is not only "undemocratic but also undermines the integrity of the electoral process."
Faulting the inconsistencies in the guidelines released for the election by CROSIEC which he noted already runs contrary to the electoral provisions, Ikem maintained that with the "guideline, all the registered political parties, including the APC, have already in contravention of the mandatory 30 days meant for the nomination and submission of candidates for the poll.
"As things stand today, this means All Political Parties including the APC are already in breach of this mandatory provision of the guidelines.
"The 30 days from the 25th of September when the guidelines were issued is not achievable within the time frame of the entire election scheduled for 26th of October.
"This is further compounded by S.7 of the same guideline which provides that a registered political party shall give the Commission at least 21days notice of any congress convened for the purpose of electing chairmen and Councillorship candidates for the poll.
"How is it possible to give the Commission 21 days notice before a congress to nominate candidates as well as submit the names of the candidates that emerge not later than 30days before the date of the election from notice on the 25th of September to 26th of October in 30 days.
"These contradictions cast serious doubt on the fairness and transparency of the process, raising concerns about the Commission’s impartiality," he noted.
The PDP also described as "exhorbitant arbitrary and ridiculous" the chairmanship and Councillorship nomination fees proposed in the guideline and pointed out that the fees are designed to discourage participation.
"We condemn this attempt at putting election beyond the reach of the average Nigerian and thereby discouraging grassroots participation at a time of most critical economic hardship and attempting to restrict Political participation to only the rich and wealthy.
"We call on the State Government as a matter of urgent State importance to call CROSIEC to order and review the fees with immediate effect.
"We also demand that all arbitrary charges and payments imposed on political parties and candidates be reversed immediately. "On the whole, with all sense of responsibility, we call on CROSIEC to as a matter of urgency withdraw these guidelines in the public interest.
"The Commission should accordingly set a responsible process in motion to organise an election that will stand the true test of a credible election characterised by free, fair, transparent process that will birth a just election," the party demanded.
The PDP Chairman however said in spite of these inherent flaws in the process, the party has resolved to participate in the local government election.
"We have resolved to participate in the upcoming local government council elections, despite the inherent flaws in the process, particularly regarding the timing and the discrepancies found in the released timetable.
"The PDP remains committed to participating in these elections, but we insist that the process be fair, transparent, and in accordance with the law," he stated.
