Former Rivers State governorship candidate under the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tonye Cole, has faulted the conduct of the recently concluded local government elections in the state, saying the process could have been handled “differently and better.”
Cole made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television, where he stressed the importance of upholding democratic values and engaging citizens in electoral processes.
“One of the things we have to be very careful about is that democracy is something that is continuous. If we begin to ignore how the people feel, ignore the laws and the rules of democracy, and then set our own rules, I think it’s a very dangerous trend,” he said.
The APC chieftain argued that a more inclusive approach should have been adopted to make the people feel part of the process, adding that their ultimate well-being is tied to the credibility of elections.
“I’ve already spoken about the local government elections. I feel that we could have done it differently. It could have been done better. It could have been done with a much more holistic approach of engaging people and making sure that they understand this is a process that affects their ultimate well-being,” he noted.
While expressing dissatisfaction with the exercise, Cole admitted that the elections were now in the past.
“I don’t agree with the way the elections were done, but it is done; all we have to do is move on to the next one,” he added.
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