It was confirmed on Tuesday that the main opposition political parties in Adamawa State will not be presenting candidates for the local government elections scheduled for Saturday, July 13.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) are notably absent from the list of 12 parties fielding candidates for the election.
Both the APC and SDP had previously expressed doubts about the Adamawa State Independent Electoral Commission’s (ADSIEC) ability to conduct credible elections on the specified date, declaring they would not participate in the poll.
Their stance was affirmed when the final list of 12 participating parties was presented to newsmen during an interaction with ADSIEC on Tuesday.
The APC and SDP ranked second and third, respectively, behind the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Adamawa State.
ADSIEC Chairman Mohammed Umar, addressing a news briefing on the upcoming council election, stated that parties choosing not to participate would not be compelled to do so.
He emphasized the Commission’s commitment to conducting a free and fair election.
Umar dismissed allegations that some council chairmanship aspirants were disqualified illegally, that results had already been predetermined, and that the election would not be genuine.
“We have no authority to disqualify candidates in the manner alleged, and we have not done so,” Umar stated.
“The Commission has not produced result sheets yet, let alone written results. A proper election will be conducted.”
He assured that the Commission is logistically prepared for the election, which will take place in all 4,104 polling units across the state, with results entered as they are received.
The ADSIEC chairman noted that the 12 participating political parties have 60 chairmanship candidates screened for the 21 local government areas of the state.
The participating parties are Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), African Democratic Congress (ADC), Alliance Peoples Movement (APM), Labour Party (LP), All Peoples Party (APP), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
Support InfoStride News' Credible Journalism: Only credible journalism can guarantee a fair, accountable and transparent society, including democracy and government. It involves a lot of efforts and money. We need your support. Click here to Donate