Uche Secondus, the national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has disclosed that the party might not participate in future elections in the country without electoral reforms.
The Herald gathered that Secondus said the nation could not afford to continue on the path of manipulation of the electoral process by the Independent National Electoral Commission and security agencies.
The party national chairman made this known during a meeting between the PDP National Working Committee and INEC leadership in Abuja.
He urged the electoral body to be at the forefront of agitation for a fresh legal framework for the conduct of free, fair and credible election by legalizing electronic voting in Nigeria.
Secondus said: “We in the PDP are in the forefront for legal framework for free and fair election. The PDP is not opposed to any electoral law that will prevent manipulation of the system.
“I would like to urge INEC to move quickly and initiate Electoral Act amendment that will legalise electronic voting and remove the influence of the military as primary security on election day. We expect INEC to be at the forefront of this process to have a legal framework for the conduct of a free, fair and credible election.
“We are not afraid to pour out our minds that if the same method use in the elections that took place in Bayelsa and Kogi will be the same method for subsequent elections, it will be very difficult for us to participate because I took time to refresh your memories with what has happened from 1959 till date.”
Secondus said the legal framework should address the issue of security, electronic voting and collation of results as well as punishments for electoral offenders.
He added: “We cannot continue this way. It is better to abandon the American model and then we can adopt the Egyptian model if we like. Let us adopt the Egyptian model where the military will be part and parcel of the election. But if we are operating the American model, which is presidential, then it will be seen as such.
“The silent majority are grumbling because in a situation where bad leaders are thrown up through unjust election, what you see is crisis across this nation.”