A Nigerian Catholic priest in Malawi, Fr Kelvin Ugwu has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC to include the names of political party candidates running for next year’s election on the ballot papers.
In a letter posted on his verified Facebook page, Fr Kelvin noted that Nigerians are no longer voting based on political parties, but rather, the personality of the various candidates, stressing that the ballot papers should not be limited to only the party logo.
Sharing an image of a Malawian ballot paper, the priest said almost all the countries in Africa have both the face, and the names of the candidates running for elections on the ballot paper.
He wrote, “Dear INEC Nigeria, our ballot paper should be like this because in the true sense of it, it is actually the individual with his vice that we are voting for.
“All the elections conducted in Nigeria in the past, the ballot papers just carried only party logos. But it is not the party we vote for that leads us after the elections but the individual.
“Almost all the countries in Africa have both the face, the name of the candidate, his/her running mate, and the party logo on their ballot papers. Please do this for Nigerians.”
