PDP may not participate in 2019 general elections – Uche Secondus, party chairman says

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is reconsidering participating in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

Uche Secondus, the party chairman said this when he received a Joint International Election Observation Mission fielded by two main American international civil agencies, the National Democratic Institute, (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI), at the party headquarters in Abuja, yesterday July 19th.

“We are yet to take the decision whether we will participate or not, we are no longer confident in INEC or in our own security” he told the election observers. In Ekiti state governorship election last Saturday, we did not contest with APC, we contested with INEC and Security agencies. For us as an opposition party, we have lost confidence in INEC and security agencies” Secondus said.

The party chairman described what happened in Ekiti State as not just electoral fraud but robbery in connivance with INEC and security agencies. According to him, the party is consulting with its relevant organs in the review of Ekiti election to reconsider their position on 2019 general elections. He said a situation where bodies that should be neutral in a contest are brazenly helping to manipulate the process in favour of one party is antithetical to democracy and is a dangerous signal.

Uche Secondus added that there were clear indications for all to see that the ruling party, APC is scheming to engineer more crisis in the land to enable them to manipulate the electoral process in their favour in connivance with security agencies.