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| Senator Douye Diri |
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Bayelsa State, Senator Douye Diri, has alerted the United States and the United Kingdom to the alleged plans by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to collude with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to rig the November 16 governorship election.
He also raised concerns over intelligence reports indicating that the main opposition party was planning to intimidate voters and unleash violence during the election.
Diri spoke on Wednesday in Yenagoa after meetings with officials of the US Embassy and the British High Commission.
The US delegation was led by the Consul General, Claire Pierangelo, while the Second Secretary (Political), Mr. Sarabjit Singh, led the British High Commission team.
The Director, Media and Publicity Committee of the PDP Campaign Council, Dr. Jonathan Obuebite, in a statement quoted Diri as saying that the APC is not planning for a free, fair and transparent election, but rather plotting to intimidate, threaten and kill voters.
โThey are planning to collude with INEC to undermine democracy in our state. All that we hear is that the APC already has the result sheets, which will be filled in and that INEC will only announce those results already written.
โWe also hear that the APC will use the military as they did in Rivers State during the governorship election where soldiers were drafted in to intimidate voters and a lot of people were killed. We hear that the APC will collude with INEC to ensure that Bayelsa is taken by force whether the people like it or not.
โThese are very serious concerns for us. So, we urge you to send your observers like you have always done. All we are asking for is a free, fair and transparent election. This is why we are connecting and campaigning with the people as well as lobbying them. We do not want violence or crisis. Elections are not for the use of guns but the ballot.โ
The PDP standard-bearer further alleged that the APC was recruiting militants and criminals within and outside the state to unleash violence and ensure they get a result that is favourable to them.
He stressed the importance of a credible poll, noting that the PDP was a peaceful party that had produced a former president from the state, produced all the governors of the state and is poised to repeat the same feat on November 16.
โAll that we are appealing for and want is a level-playing field, for INEC to be fair and the security agencies to be professional in handling the electoral processes,โ Diri said.
