Elections: YDM gives INEC fresh condition

The Young Democratic Party, which
a Federal High Court in Abuja newly
ordered its registration by the
Independent National Electoral
Commission, has given the
Independent National Electoral
Commission a fresh condition.
The YDP , which said it had no plan
to scuttle the forthcoming
elections, stated that it would only
wave its insistence on contesting
the elections, if INEC assured that it
would not be deregistered after
the general elections.
It also said that it would this week
file a suit against the elections of
the Ekiti State Governor, Mr.
Ayodele Fayose and his Osun State
counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf
Aregbesola, because of its
exclusion from participating in
governorship polls in the two
states.
The YDP explained that at the time
the two elections were held, it was
already a political party.
The party, which will hold its
national convention on March 27, a
day to the presidential poll, had
insisted that it would contest the
general elections.
There have been concerns that the
YDP’s insistence on fielding
candidates for the elections will
scuttle the polls as INEC has already
printed ballot paper, which does
not contain the new party.
The YDP on Saturday said did not
have any alliance with the Peoples
Democratic Party or the All
Progressives Congress for the
purpose of scuttling the polls.
One of the lawyers of the party, Mr.
Ugo Nwofor, told one of our
correspondents on Saturday that
the party’s insistence on
participating in the forthcoming
elections was to avert possible
deregistration of the party in the
future.
Nwofor said that the party was
apprehensive that INEC could turn
around to deregister it if it fails to
win any of the presidential,
governorship, national and state
legislative elections as clearly
provided in section 78(7) of the
Electoral Act.
Nwofor said, “We don’t want to
scuttle the election. Let me tell you
why we are interested in
contesting election. Section 78(7)
of the Electoral Act says if a party
fails to win presidential election,
governorship election or a seat in
the Senate, House of
Representatives or the House of
Assembly, INEC can deregister you.
So if we don’t participate in the
election at all, INEC can come back
and deregister us
“Unless INEC is coming out with a
bond that they won’t touch us. We
don’t have any plan to scuttle the
election. We just want to
participate in the election so that
we can remain as a political party.
“Not talking to us is not helping
anybody. We are more interested
in retaining our registration than in
participating in us. We are
suspecting that they want to use
that to deregister us.
“We do not want to scuttle the
elections. It could be what PDP
wants or what APC wants but we
will not fall into anybody hands. We
want to discuss with INEC and not
political parties so that it will not
be what PDP wants or what APC
wants.”