Following threats of election boycott recently by the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) over alleged plans to rig the forthcoming elections in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the commission has said that it is counterproductive for anybody to be talking of boycott of any election.
The INEC National Commissioner, Barr. Festus Okoye who disclosed this at a forum in Awka, the Anambra State capital, however stated that the commission deals only with duly registered political parties in the country of which the CUPP was not one of them.
Okoye said,” There are 91 registered political parties in Nigeria. The CUPP is not a political party registered within the contemplation of the law and the constitution and that is what I want to tell you in relation to that.
“Secondly, I think it is counterproductive for anybody to be talking of boycott of an election. In a Senatorial election, if only three people vote and one person scored two votes and the other person scored one vote, we will declare the person with two votes as the winner and that is the law. It is not about the person who scores the highest number of valid votes.
“So, if you boycott election and I am able to mobilize members of my family to go and vote, I win the election. So, I can’t see how political parties are spending billions in campaigns and then a group that has no legal backing will be talking about boycott of elections, we won’t pay attention to that.
“We pay attention to political parties that are duly registered because it is only political parties that are duly registered that are permitted to campaign for candidates and canvass votes for candidates”.
Send your news, press releases/articles to augustinenwadinamuo@yahoo.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @ptreporters and on Facebook on facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526, 08053908817.
