ADC faults by-elections, says democracy declining under Tinubu

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says Saturday’s by-elections show that democracy has “declined” under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

On Saturday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted by-elections in 16 constituencies across 12 states in the country.

In a statement on Sunday, Bolaji Abdullahi, ADC’s interim national publicity secretary, alleged that the by-elections were “riddled with widely reported violence, vote buying, manipulation, and other administrative lapses”.

Abdullahi said Saturday’s exercise “represents the clearest indication of a dress rehearsal for the 2027” general election.

He said ADC performance in the by-elections was not a “measure of the strength or capacity of the opposition coalition but rather a sad reflection of how far the system has been corrupted against the will of the people”.

He added that the ADC did not field candidates for most of the positions contested in the by-elections.

The ADC spokesperson called on INEC to “investigate the brazen and reckless irregularities that have been revealed and reported and sanction all compromised officials”.

Abdullahi asked Tinubu “to rise above his partisan interest and, for once, demonstrate genuine leadership by ensuring that Nigerians can cast their votes freely and safely”.

“What Nigerians witnessed in yesterday’s by-elections is yet another reminder that under the current administration, democracy itself, just like the economy and our national security, continues to decline under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC,” the statement reads.

“When elections are marred by widespread violence, when ballots are openly and brazenly exchanged for money, when opposition candidates are excluded without explanation, and when the very institutions entrusted to safeguard democracy become complicit, then the vote of the ordinary Nigerian ceases to have meaning.

“If INEC cannot guarantee the integrity of a by-election, then Nigerians are right to question its institutional capacity and all-round readiness for a general election.

“In a similar regard, the ADC calls on the international community, especially Nigeria’s democratic partners and election observers, not to look away. Silence in the face of such brazen subversion of democratic norms will only embolden those who profit from this chaos.

“Nigeria is too important to Africa and the world to allow its democracy to collapse under the weight of complicit impunity.”