The Independent National Electoral Commission (INECmethod )’s compiling of results of the Presidential and National Assembly Elections held on Saturday has been criticized by the Labour Party (LP), which has threatened to challenge the results in court.
The LP said that although it was more discerning in its strongholds, the majority of its members were systematically denied their rights across the nation.
In a statement released by the party’s national secretary, Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, on Sunday, the party claimed that while it had gained ground in most of Northern Nigeria with high vote totals, LP members had been purposefully barred from voting, violently driven from polling places, or had ballot papers and boxes destroyed and set ablaze in other areas.
He cited Lagos, Rivers, Bayelsa, Kano, Yobe and Edo states among places where such acts were rampantly perpetrated in violation of the electoral act 2022 as amended.
Umar said in some places, INEC staff and electoral materials were not deployed to areas that are known to be strongholds of Labour Party, or deployed late to frustrate the party supporters who, psychologically got tired of waiting and had to leave the polling units for the fear of the unknown.
“The delay by INEC to upload and announce results, especially where Labour Party, is already known to have taken lead, is also worrisome and we feel it is deliberate to anger our party and our supporters” he said.
Umar also alleged that intelligence from the fields revealed that across the Northern states, electorates identified as Labour Party supporters were tactically denied access to their polling units by some officials who connived with others to confuse the electorates by insisting their polling units are different and sending them to the wrongs ones. He said this frustrated the electorates, and reduced the votes polled by Labour Party, which would have more than doubled if the right things were done.
LP called on INEC to checkmate and call its polling staff to order and also ensure punitive measures in line with the electoral Act 2022 as amended.
The Labour Party National Secretary assured that the party would definitely challenge the outcome and final result in court.