Political class worked against 2011 presidential elections - CPC

Political class worked against 2011 presidential elections - CPC
Uche Iheanacho, Abuja

An opposition party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), has decried the outcome of the 2011 Presidential Election, saying that the behaviour of political class speaks volume of their determination to continue to work against credible elections in Nigeria.

“Nigerians will agree with us that the final processes and outcome of the 2011 general elections are nothing any near to what our campaigns for true Electoral Reforms expected in enthroning for Nigeria free, fair and credible elections,” the CPC said. 

CPC National Legal Adviser, Abubakar Malami, who gave this indication in a press conference in Abuja said that it was not necessarily the intention of CPC to ensure that its Presidential Candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari becomes the president or to ensure that the incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan vacates office, but that it was rather to ensure that the right things were done for the sake of posterity and democracy.

Political Class

He further said the contention that the declaration of false results assembled in places other than the Polling Unit after the Presidential Election, was another reminder that the political class ruling and ruining Nigeria was not ready to allow electoral reforms work. 

The CPC regretted that Justice Mohammed Uwais recommendation on electoral reform was not implemented especially as it relates to the electoral body being non-partisan.

Democratic experiment

Going down memory lane, the political party recalled that “Since independence, the major political problem of Nigeria had been that of elections.

"Transiting from one government to the other through the ballot box had always been the most difficult aspect of the nation’s democratic experiment," it said.

"In fact, on the two occasions the military took over the reins of power from civilian regimes, in 1966 and 1983, election malpractices were sighted as justification."

Ascertaining the truth

To this end, CPC called on Nigerians to be “supportive of its action; as it was not a case of trying to get the presidency of Nigeria for General Mohammadu Buhari, or was it a case to deny same to President Goodluck Jonathan.

Malami said: “that whosoever is the leader does not matter to CPC, so long as the processes creating the leadership are genuine.”

He said that the case was about establishing and ascertaining the truth for the country.

“It is on record that the nation expended at least 108 billion to conduct the elections. It is therefore worthwhile to establish the truth of the elections," he said.