A Nigerian Catholic priest serving in Malawi, Kelvin Ugwu, has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to include the pictures of party candidates on the ballot papers.
Ogwu, in a letter he posted on his verified Facebook page, argued that Nigerians would be voting based on the personality of the candidates running for different positions and not the political parties.
He, therefore, stressed that the ballot papers should not be limited to only the logos of the parties.
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The priest’s letter read, “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.
“In all the elections conducted in Nigeria in the past, the ballot paper just carried only party logos. But it is not the party we voted for that led us after the elections but the individual,” he wrote.
Sharing a sample picture, Ugwu further noted that most African countries have both the photos and the names of the candidates contesting different elections on the ballot papers.
He wrote, “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.”
