Saturday’s Local Government elections in Cross River State has been described as a sham and blatant mockery of democracy by Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe, PDP Cross River North.
In a statement issued on Monday, Jarigbe labeled the polls as a facade, further calling for the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions, SIEC.
Based on what played out during and after the elections Jarigbe posited that LGA polls conducted by SIEC’s will never be credible as long as the body remains under the firm control of State Governors.
Giving an account of what transpired on the November 2nd election in which the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was declared winner of all the the eight LGAs the State, Jarigbe said that the election was marred with irregularities and voter intimidation by security forces.
He stated that the election was hijacked by the APC-led government and manipulated to ensure a predetermined outcome in favor of APC candidates as declared by the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC), Chairman Dr. Ekong Boco.
Narrating the incidents that characterisd the election, Jarigbe said that Military forces were deployed to escort election materials and intimidate voters.
Furthermore, Jarigbe said that the SIEC’S leadership are loyalists of the Governor who end up announcing favoured candidates of the Governor as winners of the Chairmanship and Councillorship elections.
Jarigbe further pointed out that what occurred in Cross River State is not an isolated incident but a rather worrisome trend across other states mentioning Anambra, Plateau, Bauchi, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Kaduna where State Governments control electoral outcomes, leave little room for other parties to participate meaningfully or to garner lawful votes in Local Government elections.
The statement read partly;
“Governors in various States appoint loyalists to their respective State Independent Electoral Commissions, only to hand them a list of their party’s candidates, who are then simply announced as winners.
“This is an affront to democracy, as it suppresses competition, disenfranchises the electorate, and erodes the very essence of a free and fair electoral process.
“If left unchanged, our democracy stands on the edge of a precipice, with the risk of a slide into governance dictated by personal interests rather than by the will of the people.
Warning on the risks of the trend, Jarigbe said that if left unchanged, the Nation’s democracy stands on the edge of a precipice, with the risk of a slide into governance dictated by personal interests rather than by the will of the people.
The Lawmaker promised to back the National Assembly to scrap SIEC and enat a law that genuinely supports democracy at the local level.
While calling on his supporter to remain Law Abiding, Jarigbe gave assurances that despite the outcome of the election his Party the PDP ( Peoples Democratic Party ) is waxing stronger and gaining momentum in the state.
He also promised to continue the discharge of legislative duties and the provision of infrastructure and empowerment across party lines.
