Court disqualified PDP candidate, not INEC - REC says

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday, April 1, said that it did not disqualify, the PDP candidate for Akuku-Toru Constituency 11, Mr. Tonye Alalibo, from participating in re-run election in Rivers.

Speaking in Port Harcourt, the Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Mr Aniedi Ikoiwak, said that the judgment of the election tribunal and Court of Appeal excluded the party and its candidate from participating in the election.

It would be recalled that the All Progressives Congress candidate (APC), Mr Fredrick Anabraba, won the election for the constituency with 2,970 votes.

Ikoiwak explained that two days to the re-run, the commission wrote to the state chapter of PDP informing it that the party and its candidate had been excluded in the election.

"The decision was taken by the commission in compliance with the judgment of the tribunal and that of the Court of Appeal,” he said.

The commissioner said insinuations that the commission deliberately disqualified the candidate was false and baseless.

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He said the courts took the decision and INEC complied.

Ikoiwak said the commission will fix a date for repeat election in the eight local government areas where the exercise was cancelled due to irregularities.