The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Kaduna State chapter has described the Kaduna State Electoral Law as an instrument for electoral theft and subversion of the will of the people.
This is coming following the failure of the local government election tribunal to deliver judgment on the 58 petitions before her until the stipulated 120 days elapsed.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna yesterday, the PDP State Chairman, Hon. Felix Hassan Hyat said, “We condemn in the strongest terms the faulty Kaduna State electoral law which was deliberately designed and signed into law by the governor to serve as an instrument for electoral theft and subversion of the will of the people.
“We berate the wisdom of the governor and his legal team for signing into law such a contemptuous document especially given the claim of His Excellency, Mal. Nasir El-Rufa’i of being a progressive democrat committed to improving our electoral process and jurisprudence”.
According to him, “The introduction of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) to improve the integrity of our elections have been jettisoned by the inability of the courts to determine malpractices and recover stolen mandates for aggrieved parties, and in this case the PDP.
“We are disappointed in the failure of the Chief Judge of Kaduna State to establish more tribunals as provided for in the electoral law to create room for accommodating more cases as well as the speedy determination of same given the limited time the electoral law provided”.
He then demanded the immediate review of the current electoral law, and for the full participation of the public and relevant stakeholders in the process to forestall future compromise of election outcomes using the courts, as it happened in the recent one.
“It is pertinent to note that the last review of the electoral law by the House of Assembly was shrouded in secrecy, and even after it was signed into law by the governor, getting a copy of the said law became a herculean task,” he said.
He also called on the good people of Kaduna State to rise up and condemn and also demand the immediate repeal of the state electoral law, adding that its major stakeholders and legal team will meet to determine its next line of action.
“One of the ambiguities of the LG post-Election Tribunal in the state is the decision of the Chief Judge of Kaduna State to establish just one tribunal that presided over 58 cases in the span of 120 days even when the Kaduna State Electoral Law empowers him to establish more Election Tribunals which shall have original jurisdiction to hear and determine election petitions,” he added.
