…As IPAC calls for postponement .
Political parties in Imo State under the aegis of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Imo State, have threatened to boycott the scheduled Saturday Local Government Elections in Imo State.
Arising from a meeting involving about 15 political parties in the state held in Owerri on Tuesday, they warned Imo State Independent Electoral Commission (ISIEC) to stop playing to the gallery and do the right thing by following the guidelines as enshrined in the Electoral Act for the conduct of Council Elections.
IPAC rather called for the postpoment of the Saturday LG Elections to enable ISIEC fix itself in order to avoid sham elections.
During a media parley , Imo State Chairman of IPAC, Ichie Levi Ekeh, stated that the political parties are not satisfied with ISIEC for not properly following the electoral guidelines, an anomaly, he said undermines democratic tenets and rule of law.
“We are not happy with how ISIEC is going about the LG Polls. Recent trends of events have shown that the whole exercise is a charade in the sense that the election guidelines have not been followed, at all.
“Before now, ISIEC had promised that Forms would be issued to candidates where their details will be obtained and validation exercise taken place, 20 days before the elections, but it is very shameful that ISIEC did not keep to the guidelines, an intentional act that demonstrates planned rigging and irregularities in the Saturday elections.
“IPAC is law-abiding and hence will not want to be part of this impunity being displayed by ISIEC. We want things to be done rightly. ISIEC should sit up and do what is right, if it wants us to be part of the LG Elections”, Ekeh maintained.
Observing that till now Adhoc Staff for the elections have not been listed, a situation Ekeh described as aberration, cautioning ISIEC for taking huge amount of money from candidates for Validation Forms.
He also lamented and wondered why ISIEC is not dealing directly with political parties.
