15 political parties boycott Rivers LG polls

Fifteen political parties on Friday pulled out of today’s chairmanship and councillorship elections organised by the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC).

Prince Favour Reuben, Labour Party Chairman in the state, made the announcement in a communiqué issued at the end of a joint meeting in Port Harcourt.

Reuben lamented the lack of transparency by RSIEC, urging the electoral umpire to obey a Court order which mandated all parties to maintain status quo.

He said, “We have lost confidence in the ability to conduct a free and fair election. In particular, while RSIEC had claimed that INEC has released the Voters’ Register to it, INEC informed the public that no such register has been released to RSIEC.

“This is outright deceit and embarrassing. It has come to our knowledge that the RSIEC has breached relevant laws, rules and deviated from observing due process.

“RSIEC should comply with the ruling of the Federal High Court, maintaining status quo in the case seeking to restrain INEC from releasing the current Voters’ Register to RSIEC. RSIEC should immediately postpone the election.”

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