A Facebook account claims that although APC cannot be removed from the ballot paper, a vote cast for them is a wasted one.
While the final fate that befalls APC is still unknown, it is FALSE to assert a vote for the opposition party is a wasted one.
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This new Facebook claim comes amid the recent disqualification debacle for APC. The court ruling generated a lot of reactions on social media; with many saying that the ruling party in the state- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)- has won the election. Dubawa already established that APC will participate in tomorrow’s election. The implication of a vote to a candidate-less party is still unclear. And this is the crux of the matter this claim aims to exploit.
#RedFlags
This claim comes from a Facebook page titled Chidi Cali- notorious for being a refuge for PDP’s apologists’ posts. And now, in its latest itineration, it claimed that Festus Okoye said:
“We can’t remove APC from the already printed ballot paper but any vote cast for APC is a wasted vote”
Festus Okoye (Chairman, Voter Education and Information- Independent Electoral Commission, INEC) allegedly.
We traced the quote to a news report published on November 14 by Nigeria Info FM. The leading talk Radio station’s intel, however, is uncorroborated by notable media reports. Premium Times and TheCable share a different story to the narrative above. But as you know, this is not news; Dubawa already confirmed this.
The Unknown
“APC will participate in the election in Bayelsa State. We do not have any court judgment that said the APC should not be on the ballot paper, what the court said is that the party does not have a candidate. Where we are currently is that we have 45 political parties on the ballot paper and the APC is also on the ballot. We only have logos of parties and those are what will be there. Their votes will be counted as well…”
Festus Okoye
It is still unclear the implication of Mr Okoye’s statement. Meanwhile, our attempts to get further clarification from Mr Okoye proved abortive. Heres the head-scratcher. On the one hand, he says their votes will be counted. But on the other, the response the Cable received from Festus does not clarify things either.
Conclusion:
We do know APC will be participating in tomorrows gubernatorial elections. And as Premium Times surmises, a victory for APC could also mean civil war for the party; as to who wears the governorship crown. However, as the INEC Chairman pointed out in the report by The Cable, the fate of APC will be decided “after the voting process”. Hence, in the absence of any counter statements by established authorities (like INEC), this claim should be disregarded.
