The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Anambra State has withdrawn from the upcoming local government elections, scheduled for 28th September 2024, citing irregularities in the process.
The decision was reached following a motion to boycott the election by some APC stakeholders, including Donatus Emecheta, and seconded by Akunwata Obadike, during the party’s stakeholders meeting held at the Party’s Office in Awka, the Anambra State capital on Saturday.
The State Chairman of the party, Basil Ejidike, aligning with the decision of the stakeholders discloses that the party will take legal action and challenge the election process in court.
According to him, the party has observed violations of due process in the proposed polls which the party believes will undermine the credibility of the poll, adding that participating in the LG election will amount to “legalising illegality.”
He insisted 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.
Ejidike further notes that the APC, under his leadership, will not participate in the election because ANSIEC and the state governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, are not prepared to conduct the exercise in a free, fair, and credible manner.
He questioned how a great party like APC would 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 and so on.
Ejidike further urged party members to remain focused, as the APC will soon begin a tour of the 21 local government areas in preparation for the 2025 governorship election in the state.
For over ten years the local government election has not been held in the state and 21 local government areas in the state have been under the management of the caretaker transition committee chairmen appointed by successive governors, every three months, to cater to the administration of the grassroots level.