Total ammendment of electoral act, only solution to electoral fraud – SDP
* Congratulates winners of Abia polls
By Steve Oko
The Social Democratic Party, SDP, has advocated a comprehensive ammendment of the Electoral Act as the only solution to the endemic electoral frauds in Nigeria.
Chairman of SDP in Abia State, Hon. Chidi Nwosu who made the advocacy at a press briefing Wednesday in Umuahia, said that free and fair elections in Nigeria would remain a mirage until the Presidency and the National Assembly were courageous enough to do the needful.
SDP decried the rate of malpractices witnessed during the just-concluded polls and called for urgent action to halt similar occurrences in future elections.
“The elections were characterised by ballot box snatching, vote buying , manipulation of result figures, intimidation and harresments”, SDP alleged.
SDP expressed sadness at the level of electoral fraud perpetrated at collation centres under the watch of “heavily induced security agents and election officials”.
” Members of the academia were chosen as collation and returning officers but our assessment of the integrity of majority of these officials left nothing to be desired”, SDP said.
On the way forward, SDP said :” The National Assembly and the Presidency must as matter of urgency consider a comprehensive ammendment to the electoral act with the aim of enshrining in the law, measures that shall eliminate these cankerous and perennial electoral disfunctions in Nigeria’s electoral system “.
SDP, however, despite the abysmal performance of its candidates at the polls congratulated “those declared winners”, and urged them to be magnanimous in victory.
The party whose candidate, Dr. Blessing Nwagba came fourth in the governorship poll, tasked winners to “offer good governance to alleviate the sufferings of Abians as this is the intention for why our candidates were on the ballot”.
SDP however, advised those who were aggrieved as a result of perceived electoral fraud to seek redress at the Election Petition Tribunal.
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