Esther Salifu
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has said it would not participate in the upcoming local government election scheduled for September 28, 2024.
The party disclosed this while announcing it’s withdrawal from the upcoming local government elections scheduled for September 28, 2024.
The party said it would take legal action against the elections, stating that ANSIEC and the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, were not prepared to conduct the exercise in a free, fair, and credible manner.
APC stated that the announcement of the election date did not follow due process as stipulated by the Electoral Act 2022 and it would challenge the election process in court.
According to the party, the decision to boycott the election followed alleged violations of due process, which they believe undermines the credibility of the poll.
APC said: “Participating in the LG election would amount to ‘legalising illegality’,” the party said, insisting that the constitution of the Anambra State Independent Electoral Commission (ANSIEC) and the announcement of the election date did not follow due process as stipulated by the Electoral Act 2022.
The motion to boycott the election was moved by APC stakeholders, including Donatus Emecheta, and seconded by Ikunwata Obadike, during the party’s stakeholders’ meeting held at the state headquarters in Awka on Saturday.
APC state chairman, Chief Basil Ejidike, noted that the APC, said parties are not given enough time to conduct primaries to elect their candidates and it would not participate in the election.
He said ANSIEC and the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, were not prepared to conduct the exercise in a free, fair, and credible manner.
“How can a great party like APC be involved in an election where political parties are not given enough time to conduct primaries to elect their candidates, no campaign rallies, no selling of forms in accordance with the Electoral Act?” Ejidike asked.
He also claimed that Soludo had already set up a tribunal at the Anambra State High Court in Awka for political parties wishing to challenge the election’s outcome, suggesting that the governor was not transparently preparing to establish an accountable local government system.
“We are already in court to challenge the process because the APC, being the major opposition party in Anambra State, must try as much as possible to lead by example. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Labour Party have also gone to court to challenge the irregularities, and we applaud them,” Ejidike said.
The APC Legal Adviser, Chukwunoso Chinweuba, said the party had already filed a case in the High Court, challenging the entire local government election process. Chinweuba argued that the electoral process had been compromised by irregularities, citing Section 23(1) of the ANSIEC Law 2024, which provides for a 30-day notice period for the election, as inconsistent with Section 103(3) of the Electoral Act 2022, which requires a 150-day notice.
