The National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Felix Morka, spoke on Tuesday about the party’s decision to change some candidates after the primaries. He said that no aspirant who did not take part in the primary process was named a winner.
Morka addressed claims that the APC randomly replaced candidates or gave tickets to people who did not take part in the primaries. He spoke during an interview on ARISE NEWS.
He mentioned that the party received over 720 complaints from aspirants who were upset after the primaries. Morka explained that the substitutions were based on recommendations from appeal committees and a review by the National Working Committee.
"We received over 720 petitions from those who contested in that election. These petitions were reviewed by the appeal committees. Recommendations were made to the National Working Committee. But the National Working Committee of our party, in its wisdom, also took responsibility to review the reports of the appeal committees and to re-evaluate those cases.
"And at the end of them, we made those changes that you are discussing. So these are legitimate outcomes of our primaries," he said.
Morka responded to accusations that the party broke the Electoral Act by substituting candidates after the primaries. He stated that the primary election process includes dispute resolution.
"Primary election is a process. It’s not an event. The appeal process is an integral part of the primary election process. It’s not a separate process, and it’s not a process invented by the party to cause mischief," he said.
He also denied claims that the APC gave tickets to people who did not buy nomination forms or participate in the primaries.
"I’m not aware of any such case that you are alluding to about those who didn’t participate, who never bought forms, who were not screened, who didn’t participate in primaries, all of a sudden handed tickets.
"Look, I’m not aware. If you have any such example, please mention it, and I will go back and do my own investigation," Morka said.
The APC spokesman recognized that some aspirants were unhappy with the results of the primaries. He said the party took its time to review every complaint before making decisions.
"When they don’t win, naturally some people definitely have a reason to be dissatisfied. And this is why we took our time to go through these appeal processes to make sure that there was no case we didn’t give the time of day to thoroughly review," he said.
According to him, the party has started talking to upset aspirants to show them that the process was clear and not based on personal favors.
"What we say to them is that everyone cannot be flag bearer. Our engagements are already on to reach individuals like this, to reassure them that this is not personal. Nothing has been done that is arbitrary. Nobody has just been favoured with tickets," he added.
Morka also rejected claims that the review process was bent to help certain political interests. He said the party has systems to deal with any issues that happen during primaries.
"Primaries are not infallible. Primaries are not immune to irregularities. The system, the law, everything already expects that sometimes things don’t go right, so there must be a mechanism to review that when others complain," he said.
When asked about claims that the APC is worried about the upcoming general election, despite being in control of most state governments, Morka said the party is confident.
"All the elections conducted in this country since the 2023 general elections, we have won them, including the most recent elections we won massively, bigly, to use the words of Donald Trump," he said.
He added, "We are working hard to win the next election, like we’ve won in all the by-elections. The idea that we’re afraid, that is utterly ridiculous. We are working hard to win the next election."
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