The Atiku-Okowa Presidential Campaign Organisation of the Peoples Democratic Party has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare Nigeria’s presidential election conducted on Saturday, February 25, 2023, inconclusive.

The campaign also requested that INEC schedule a new date for the election in areas where the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System was not utilized and where violence occurred, thus suppressing the voting rights of citizens. The call for action followed the PDP’s objections to the collation process by INEC, with demands to halt further collation and a walkout staged by the party’s collation centre agents.

In a statement released on Tuesday morning, PDP spokesperson Daniel Bwala stated that the election should be declared inconclusive and a new date set to address areas where BVAS was not used and where violence occurred.

The conduct of the 2023 elections has received widespread criticism for being plagued by irregularities and a complete departure from the Electoral Act amendment. Bwala has stated that this has created a constitutional logjam, as a result of protests from the coalition of political parties.

The campaign spokesman has called for INEC to immediately suspend national collation and address complaints regarding BVAS bypass and electronic transmission of results. The affected areas should have a new election date set, with results uploaded in accordance with guidelines and the use of BVAS. All previously collated and announced results should be cancelled until results from polling units are uploaded to INEC’s server and announced with transparency for all parties.

He has also called for INEC to address the Nigerian public in a televised speech to regain confidence in the integrity of the election process. The spokesman stated that it is undisputed that INEC is refusing to address the observed problems and objections, which have been widely expressed and corroborated by major stakeholders, former presidents, and international observers.

The spokesman also highlighted that section 65 of the electoral act mandates the INEC chairman to correct any anomalies raised by stakeholders within 7 days. He emphasized that the confidence and legitimacy of the results must not be sacrificed for convenience and speed, especially considering the pivotal role of this election in the national security of the country.

Credit: PUNCH

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