The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has rejected the disqualification of its candidates by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the forthcoming bye-elections in some constituencies across 12 states.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Abuja, Araba Rufus Ayenigba, national publicity secretary of the party, described INEC’s action as “illegal and unconstitutional”.
The Commission had reportedly barred candidates of both the SDP and the Labour Party (LP), citing internal crises within the parties as the reason for their exclusion.
But the SDP dismissed the claim, insisting that its candidates were validly nominated through primaries conducted in line with the party’s constitution, the Electoral Act, and INEC guidelines.
Part of the statement read: “It has to be noted, however, that the Commission acted against the ruling of the Supreme Court to have rejected our candidates or those of any other political party.
“The Commission has no such powers to determine the candidates of political parties or dictate the process by which political parties will nominate their candidates.
“The SDP is already challenging the decision of INEC in court on this unlawful action.
“We trust the court to do justice to get the Commission to admit the candidates of SDP, because the party validly nominated its candidates for the bye-elections in the affected constituencies in the twelve states.”
The party reiterated that there was no internal crisis, contrary to INEC’s position, and described the disqualification as a politically motivated move to undermine smaller parties.