Re-Run Election: PDP Logo Missing As INEC Begins Distribution Of Election Materials In Plateau
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will conduct a re-run election on Saturday across the six Local Government Areas of the state.
Ahead of the poll, the electoral commission held the distribution process today at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) premises in Jos, the state capital.
Notably, the distribution was carried out in the presence of political party representatives, observers, journalists, and security personnel.
However, a significant issue arose during the distribution process. It was discovered that the ballot papers lacked the logo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), while other parties such as the All Progressives Congress (APC), People’s Redemption Party (PRP), and Labour Party (LP) were properly represented on the ballots.
This development has caused tension in the area, as PDP members who had gathered to witness the distribution of the election materials protested against their party’s exclusion. They accused INEC of disregarding the Court of Appeal judgment, which stated that all parties should participate in the re-run election.
Earlier on Wednesday, members of the PDP and their supporters in Plateau conveyed to the headquarters of INEC in Jos to stage a protest.
They were protesting against the alleged exclusion of the PDP in the upcoming re-run election scheduled for February 3, 2023. However, officials from the electoral body assured them that the issue would be addressed.
During the protest, the PDP supporters demanded evidence of the party’s inclusion on the ballot for the Plateau North Senatorial District and Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency, where the re-run election was set to take place on Saturday.
Prior to the protests, rumours were circulating that the PDP and its candidates would not participate in the re-run poll. This was due to a Court of Appeal judgment that nullified the elections in the two constituencies, which the PDP’s candidates previously won – Senator Simon Mwadkwon for Plateau North and Musa Agah for Jos North/Bassa Federal Constituency.
The Court of Appeal nullified their elections on the grounds that the PDP, which nominated them as candidates, lacked a proper structure.
INEC had initially declared Agah and Mwadkwon as the winners of the February 2023 National Assembly Elections for the Plateau North Senatorial District and Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency.
However, petitions against the PDP and its candidates were filed by Gyang Zi, the Plateau North Senatorial Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), and Mohammad Adam Alkali, the Bassa/Jos North Federal Constituency Candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP).
These petitions were successful at the Appeal Court, leading to the ordering of re-run elections in the two constituencies.
In compliance with the Court of Appeal’s decision, INEC announced that the re-run elections would take place on February 3, 2024,
