Three political parties meet poll requirements

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced yesterday (Monday) that three of the nine political parties that contested the Nigerian local elections on 5 December would be allowed to participate in state and national elections early next year, news organisations reported. The three parties are: the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the All People’s Party (APP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD). The AD, which drew most of its support from the Yoruba people in the southwest, did not meet the required level of votes from all areas of the country. But INEC invoked a clause whereby if only two parties qualified the party which finished third would be qualified for the next round. Under INEC guidelines, qualified parties had to score at least five percent of the votes in 24 states. INEC chairman Ephraim Akpata said 26.6 million voters out of 57 million registered cast their vote, which is higher than the 1993 elections turnout estimated at 35 percent. The PDP of former head of state General Olusegun Obasanjo is made up of politicians opposed to the late military hardline ruler, General Sani Abacha. Their votes alongside those of the APP, comprising former Abacha supporters, accounted for three-quarters of those polled, the BBC said.