Nigeria 2011 presidential polls - Leader and founder of Oodua Peoples' Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasehun has described the mode of selection of candidates in the just concluded party primaries as another way of rigging ahead of the coming election, maintaining that 'election rigging starts from picking candidates.' In a statement made available to THISDAY Wednesday, Fasheun posited that it is crystal clear that virtually all the political parties and their leaders selected candidates to represent Nigerians just to promote their political dynasty.

According to him, "where does rigging of elections start from and where does it end? In our present political climate, does anybody have the right to challenge anybody for preparing to rig? Is democracy synonymous with the "selectocracy" that now determines the emergence of parties' candidates for elective positions?"

He therefore stated there are tensions being created by politicians in the polity that gradually tilting the nation into great insecurity ahead of the general elections, saying that the killing of six people in Bornu state, including a governorship candidate mowed down in a daylight gun attack.

The OPC boss, however, said National Assembly should empower the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to punish erring political parties, especially by not allowing them to create a situation where leaders impose their choice candidate, including their own children against the wishes of the masses.

According to him "National Assembly should empower INEC against allowing politicians to create political dynasty, whereby they institutionalize their children and favoured ones against the sovereignty of the people. We abhor political dynasty.

He continued: "We had always thought that some old politicians harbour sinister motives for serving the Nation. Or how do we explain the formulation of political dynasties in various parts of our country as manifesting from various political leaders and parties? Is this why our political leaders found it easy to kill and silence the Middle-Class, which is most equipped to resist the existence of political dynasties?"

He added that "Today, Nigerians are being subjected to as many political crises as there are political platforms. And our countrymen's enthusiasm for democracy has quickly given way to confusion.

He therefore called on INEC to urgently establish machinery to rectify the troubled registration exercise and help solidify and deepen our democracy.

He also asked that all political parties that have compromised internal democracy and produced unpopular candidates should be disbanded.

He said INEC should open a department for direct public complaints, where popular aspirants robbed of their rightful candidacy can file appeals to and reclaim their due mandate from illegitimate candidates. Any political party with up to 10 percent of its candidates disputed should be penalized.

Sheriff Balogun

This Day/03/02/2011