The Labour Party (LP) chapter in Lagos State has criticized the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for not including the party on the ballot papers for Saturday’s Senate and House of Representatives elections.
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The disclosure was made on Thursday at a news conference in Ikeja by State LP chairman Dayo Ekong, who urged the Commission to reschedule the election until the Party’s candidates were included on the ballots.
Keep in mind that on Wednesday, INEC delivered sensitive materials for the state’s elections for president and legislature.
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Dayo said that the error was malicious and that it was unacceptable because it was a wicked way to deny the Lagos electorate their right to vote.
She asserts that the electoral umpire committed a deliberate and intentional act, not a mistake, in making the error.
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She stated,
“During the routine inspection of election materials, I and my team of executive members discovered this malicious error this morning in Lagos.
“During the inspection, it was discovered that the Labour Party was not listed for the Lagos State Senate and House of Representatives elections. This is unacceptable and a wicked strategy for denying Lagos electorates their right to vote.
“Because INEC did not make provision for the election of the Party’s Senate and House of Representatives Candidates, it is unthinkable that the Lagos electorate will only vote for the Labour Party Presidential Candidate in the elections scheduled for Saturday, February 25.
We are unable to accept this because we do not believe that INEC committed a mistake; rather, we believe that INEC committed an unacceptable act of preventing our supporters from exercising their civic rights.
She went on to say that additional checks on the INEC website showed that the list of Lagos Labour Party candidates for the National Assembly had not been uploaded, “even as the list and court orders for the same were duly submitted to INEC and acknowledged.”
“You will all remember how we repeatedly pointed out the bias that the current INEC REC in Lagos State has shown toward our party, as well as his intensifying attacks on our leaders who have repeatedly pointed out these biases in the past and the current assault on our party.
Is this the result of all of those attacks coming together?
Ekong stated, “We call on all stakeholders, foreign observers, lovers of democracy, and the international community to quickly wade in and order INEC to do the necessary.”