- LP Candidates and RSIEC Clash
- Reject N5m Security Bond
- Clash Over Election Results
Some Labour Party candidates from the recent local government elections in Rivers State have rejected a N5m security bond that the Local Government Election Tribunal imposed.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the candidates not only called the N5m bond a prerequisite for challenging the August 30 poll results, but they also accused the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC) of frustrating their petitions by refusing to release official result sheets.
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The LP chairmanship candidate for Bonny LGA, Dr. Preye Tonye, described the bond as “illegal” and a deliberate attempt to deny justice to financially weaker candidates.
Similarly, Ngozi Miller, the LP candidate for Emuoha LGA, argued that the hefty bond “effectively disenfranchises candidates who cannot afford it.”
In the same vein, Isoboye Harry, the LP candidate for Degema LGA, accused RSIEC of “disgracing democracy” by withholding results and declared the lack of transparency shameful. However, RSIEC has dismissed all allegations.
The RSIEC’s Commissioner in Charge of Political Parties Affairs, Monitoring and Security, Prof. Godfrey Woke, insisted that the commission gave results to all candidates at their respective polling units.
He explained that if they want the collated and signed tabulated results, they must apply to the commission. He also confirmed that the polling unit result sheets are valid for filing cases at the tribunal.
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