The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it will, henceforth, resist any attempt to rig it out in future elections, beginning with the Osun governorship election scheduled for September 22.
PDP made the vow in a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan on Tuesday in Abuja.
Ologbondiyan said that it had become manifest that the ruling party was interested in rigging elections, saying the PDP would henceforth contend with such in all ramifications and magnitude, to discomfit it in all coming elections.
He said that the PDP had thoroughly reviewed all infractions and vowed to never again allow the use of foul means to usurp power as it was done in the past and merely ask the PDP to go to court.
Ologbondiyan said that the PDP had particularly reviewed the rigging of Edo state governorship election in 2016, the July 14, Ekiti state governorship election and the last Saturday’s elections for senatorial districts in Bauchi, Katsina and Kogi federal constituency
by-elections in Bauchi, Katsina and Kogi states.
He said that the review revealed that the PDP won in all the elections but was viciously manipulated out by the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The PDP, therefore, resolves that in as much as it remains a law abiding political party, conducting its affairs strictly within the ambit of our nation’s electoral laws; the party will henceforth resist rigging.
“We will henceforth directly and physically confront and resist the election riggers from always having a field day in seizing our democratic institutions and circumventing the rules during elections.
“Consequently, the PDP directs all its state governors, officials at state and zonal chapters, national and state assembly members and all other elected leaders at all levels to get ready to move into Osun state.
“They should go there and provide all support necessary and germane in all the nooks and crannies of Osun state in the forthcoming election.
“Similarly, the PDP directs all its presidential aspirants to move all their political machinery to Osun State within this period, as well as get prepared to physically participate in the election process.
“Our insistence as a party is for a level playing ground, a free, fair and credible electoral process, where all votes will count just as our party provided for General Buhari in 2015, that enabled him to be elected as president.
“However, we will not accept our respect for democratic tenets to be taken as a mark of cowardice or weakness.’’
Ologbondiyan added that the statement was a wake-up call to all lovers of democracy across our nation to rise in this spirit to safeguard the nation’s democracy from all anti-democratic and oppressive forces.
(NAN)
