Nigeria: Labour Party (LP) – Labour Party Rejects Electoral Robbery in Rivers, Calls For Outright Cancellation (26.02.2023)

The leadership of the Labour Party is shocked by the revelations emanating from Rivers state after the presidential and national assembly elections which held on Saturday; where thugs believed to be agents of the state government invaded various polling units and collation centres, took away election materials including the results sheets, manipulated the BVAS machines and uploaded fake results in to the Central portal.

We took particular note of incidences in places like Obio/Akpor, Khana, Eleme, Obigbo, Rumukoro and several other areas where Labour Party was clearly leading in virtually all the polling units with very wide margins. Governor Nyesom Wike, faced with stark reality of defeat even in the polling units in his compound in Worji, where LP scored 323 votes against APC and PDP’s 5 and 2 votes respectively, he used the soldiers and police to intimidate, harassed and snatched ballot papers.

Nigerians went into this election based on the assurances by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC that the deployment of BVAS was a perfect antidote to electoral malpractices in Nigeria, but what transpired across Nigeria, if allowed to stand is purely a betrayal of trust by millions of Nigerians on INEC.

INEC’s staff were intimidated by these thugs in connivance with the military personnels and police officers who were deployed to protect them, into doing their bidding and were forced to manipulate the BVAS, being afraid of the consequences of their refusal. Some of these manipulations happened way into late in the night. We demand that INEC investigate these atrocities against Nigerian voters by the political class.

We are therefore asking that INEC should rise to the occasion and cancel all the unverified and manipulated results arising from the presidential and national assembly elections in parts of Rivers state particularly in places like Obio/Akpor, Khana, Eleme, Obigbo and Rumukoro amongst others.

Signed

Barr. Julius Abure

National Chairman

Labour Party

26 – 02 – 2023

Nigeria: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – Presidential Election: PDP Exposes APC’s Plot to Alter Results in Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Zamfara, Others (26.02.2023)

RDC: Lamuka – Coordination des Operations Electorales (COEL) – Point de Presse (24.02.2023)

Serere County By-Election: The son of the late MP pulled the last straw

Just like his father in the 2021 elections, the son won the constituency and will represent the Serere County as the MP. The father won the seat as a National Resistance Movement MP in 2016 and returned winning as an independent in 2021. Patrick Okabe who is late after losing his life in traffic accident in December 2022. His son will now takeover from him and take his office, this being Emmanuel Omoding.

Omoding MP beat the other competition and even when he had a lot stacked against him. The National Resistance Movement (NRM) was pushing through their candidate for the second time in three years, Phillip Ocour, who has now lost both to the father and the son in two successive elections. The FDC fielded a former Independent candidate, Emmanuel Eratu who also a bad record. He only gained a hundred more votes or so between these elections. While ANT tried with their big-name and former MP Alice Aloso without doing much better than the FDC. So, the big win was for the independent and the biggest loser was in some regards the NRM.

The NRM was offered to give the son the candidacy. He would have stood on their ticket and represented the NRM. That was on record and the family tried to push it. Just like the NRM pushed the son of late Jacob Oulanyah. This would have been the same, alas the NRM Electoral Commission and other high ranking officials wanted to prove a point. While not taking into consideration the sentiments on the ground and force one of their cadres through the ranks. That’s why Serere didn’t pick Oucour, but elected Omoding instead.

ANT and NUP needs also to evaluate their presence, their campaigns and the plans for this By-Election. Even with the voter intimidation, the arrests and the misuse of power by the authorities. The ANT and NUP needs to look into why it went so bad and with such a prominent candidate. She has already a name and should have faired better than this.

That the FDC failed wasn’t shocking or surprising. Especially when you look into the 2021 election and the one from yesterday. There haven’t been much change, if any. The FDC had a better candidate in Stephen Ochola in 2016. However, I will not speculate why FDC chose Eratu over Eyaru who was their candidate in 2021. Though, they both had about the same standing in the polls. So, something must have happened behind the scenes ahead of the polls and within the party with the nominations.

This By-Election is a common tale in the Republic. Even if the NRM sort of lost this one. They are however getting an ally and NRM leaning MP. So, the High Above and the NRM CEC isn’t too worried. They are hoping his as loyal to the causes as his father. That’s why it won’t be much fuzz or create issues in the 11th Parliament.

What is striking is that it all went down this way and the NRM could have had a landslide or a victory even without pulling all the strings. If they had followed the values of nepotism and family affairs, which has become their modus operandi of late. They would have succeeded and the army wouldn’t have to come with pre-ticked ballots or hold polling agents at some of the polling stations at gun-point. The NRM would have won and called it a night.

Nevertheless, hubris and greed in combination with arrogance can be the downfall of anyone. That is just proven last night. Even the high and mighty cannot sustain true electoral performance. This is why the son won and it’s partly glorious. Peace.

Nigeria: Democrat Union of Africa (DUA) – Second Statement on the Upcoming Nigeria General Elections (23.02.2023)

Nigeria: Niger Delta Congress (NDC) – NDC Position on the forthcoming Presidential Election (23.02.2023)

Serere County By-Election: The ANT(e) is up during the polls

“As voting continues in the Serere by-election, there is a low voter turn-up and allegations of the arrest of agents. Alice Alaso and Emmanuel Omoding have tasked the Electoral Commission to explain what is going on” (NBS Television, 23.02.2023).

“Senior leaders on our elections team including Hon. Kasule Ismail our Coordinator for Bunyoro Subregion, Hon. Mukaaku Lubega and Mr. Maddo Isaac have been arrested & are now detained at Kateta Police Station Serere County Serere District. We condemn such unlawful acts by Police” (Alliance for National Transformation, 23.02.2023).

“Polls are currently underway in Serere County for a by-election to elect the area’s Member of Parliament. Candidate Alice Alaso Philip Oucor have expressed optimism about their chances of winning the election” (NTV Uganda, 23.02.2023).

This Serere County By-Election has gone silently ahead. There haven’t been much news other than Alliance for National Transformation was endorsed by the National Unity Platform. While the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) fielded its own candidate out of significant differences with the ANT party. That’s why the opposition has two candidates and there is also independents, which are trying to compete with ANT and the NRM candidate here.

There was reports of beefed up support and thousands of law enforcement and soldiers stationed for the by-election. This poll will be between Alice Alaso of ANT and Philip Oucor of NRM. That is the gist of things, and the system is behind Oucor. The only Hail-Mary candidate in this race is the son of the late MP, Emmanuel Omoding.

While there is also reports like these: “A section of voters in the ongoing Serere county by-election  have been left stranded in queues with no voting materials after armed UPDF soldiers allegedly stormed Kamurojo Kakor primary school polling station and ticked over 200 ballot papers” (Daily Monitor, 23.02.2023).

When you have the blatant arrests and intimidation of the soldiers within the polls. When you have the pre-ticked ballots and the other measures by the state. You just know how this is going to end. Before dark and tomorrow comes… the NRM candidate will be proclaimed. Dr. Tanga Odoi have even threaten people not to vote across party lines, as the independent candidate is the son of the late NRM MP. It is just compelling how this is done, and nothing is shocking.

The Ante is up and it’s evident. This by-election is already a war-zone, which is common practice or the norm under Museveni. It is how they have operated in the recent years and the polls are sham to “elect” their own. That’s how the NRM gets a secured mandate and a majority in Parliament. From the on-set there is no way the opposition can win these unless it is a landslide. Because the NRM and its handlers cannot push it then. However, they are pulling all the strings and doing what they can to “win” it again.

ANT has the best candidate here, but that won’t matter much in the grand scheme of things. Peace.

Nigeria: Defend Our Democracy – Caution around the State of Disaster warranted (22.02.2023)

Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) – ZHRC Statement on the Promotion and Protection of Political Rights in face of Upcoming 2023 Harmonized Elections (20.02.2023)

Nigeria: Action Group on Free Civic Space – Action Group on Free Civic Space Condemns the Sacking of All NGOs Operating in Zamfara State (20.02.2023)