‘Electoral umpires failed integrity test’ — PDP withdraws from Ondo LGA polls

• This election would have been the first local government poll since Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa assumed office in December 2023.
• The PDP disclosed that its decision to pull out followed consultations with party leaders, stakeholders, and its National Secretariat.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo has announced its withdrawal from the state LGA elections barely 48 hours before the polls.

The Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) had earlier screened 13 political parties, including the PDP, to participate in the council polls scheduled for Saturday.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Ondo PDP Director of Media and Publicity, Leye Igbabo, accused ODIEC of lacking credibility, transparency, and impartiality.

According to Igbabo, ODIEC’s alleged double standards have raised doubts about its ability to conduct a free, fair, and credible election.

“This decision is a product of several layers of consultations of party leaders, stakeholders and the national secretariat of our great party.

“Our party fielded 15 chairmanship candidates in 15 local government areas and 131 councillorship candidates.

“But, from all indications, ODIEC’s credibility, transparency, and impartiality have failed the integrity test.

“Recent observations and reports point to a troubling pattern of double standards by ODIEC, raising serious doubts about their ability to conduct a free, fair, and credible election,” the statement read.

According to the statement, PDP as a responsible political party, is committed to democracy and the rule of law

“The party cannot, in good conscience, confer legitimacy on a compromised process by participating in the election. This withdrawal is in line with our stance on integrity.

“We have, therefore, resolved to withdraw our participation in this exercise to uphold the integrity of our party and our unwavering belief in credible electoral practices.

“We further assure our teeming supporters, and the good people of Ondo State, that our commitment to sanitise the electoral process is irrevocable,” the statement added.