By Innocent Anaba
The Youth Party, has condemned the conduct of the Lagos State Local Government Elections held on Saturday, describing the exercise as “shambolic” and “blatantly rigged” in favour of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC.
In a on Sunday and signed by Francisco Doregos, Chair of the Youth Party’s Lagos Chapter, the party expressed deep appreciation to its supporters across the state while accusing the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission, LASIEC, of facilitating electoral malpractice and voter suppression.
“Expectedly, the Lagos State Local Government Elections were shambolic and blatantly rigged against our candidates with reckless and shameless abandon,” the statement read.
The party alleged that from inception, LASIEC was composed to favour the APC, citing the appointment of “openly competitive APC politicians” as commissioners.
It also accused the electoral body of failing to give proper notice for the election, omitting legal requirements such as the display of the voters register, and using state institutions like the Department of State Services, DSS, to intimidate its candidates under the guise of “profiling.”
On Election Day, the party claimed, LASIEC sanctioned “official rigging” by allowing individuals without voter cards to cast their ballots while ignoring the deployment of standard voting technology such as card readers and the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS.
“In Ward B of Lagos Island Local Government, ballot stuffing and multiple thumb-printing were the order of the day. In Eti Osa, voting materials were either not delivered or arrived late,” the party alleged, insisting that actual voter turnout was below 5%, despite LASIEC’s announcement of figures indicating 20–30% participation.
Despite these irregularities, the Youth Party claimed it emerged as the most preferred choice in the areas where its candidates ran, outperforming other opposition parties including the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, African Alliance, AA, and ZLP.
The party said it is currently reviewing the situation and will take a “considered decision” on how to respond to the “rigged outcome.
“We were obviously the preferred party without rigging,” the statement said. “Once again, we thank you for your exceptional support. Let’s ‘Shape the Future’ together.”
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