The Political Parties Regulation Commission (PPRC) has issued a series of directives to the All People’s Congress (APC) aimed at strengthening transparency, fairness, and compliance in the party’s ongoing lower-level elections.
The Commission’s intervention follows correspondence from APC Member of Parliament Hon. Osman Abdul Timbo, who sought clarification on the treatment of unopposed candidates and requested the Commission’s intervention regarding the conduct of elections for uncontested positions.
After hearing submissions from Hon. Timbo and representatives of the APC National Secretariat and Internal Elections Management Committee (IEMC) on July 8, the PPRC acknowledged that the APC Constitution (2022) does not explicitly address the publication of candidates’ lists or the handling of unopposed candidates. However, the Commission emphasized that democratic best practice requires party members to know who is contesting before elections are conducted.
The PPRC ordered the APC Secretariat to compile and publish the complete list of candidates for all pending constituency elections within 72 hours. The Commission stressed that publication must not be limited to electronic platforms alone. Candidate lists must also be physically displayed at APC offices across the country to ensure broad access for party members.
The Commission further directed that these candidate lists be made available to the IEMC on the same day they are published.
A significant aspect of the directive concerns unopposed candidates. The PPRC ruled that any candidate who is the sole nominee for a position should be publicly declared and automatically deemed duly elected. Consequently, the IEMC has been instructed not to conduct elections for positions where candidates are unopposed.
The Commission also ordered that no constituency election should proceed in areas where unresolved disputes, petitions, or other election-related issues remain pending within any ward of that constituency.
Looking beyond the current constituency elections, the PPRC directed that candidate and delegate lists for all future lower-level APC elections be published at least seven days before the scheduled date of those elections. The measure is intended to enhance transparency, reduce disputes, and provide party members with adequate information ahead of voting.
The directive is likely to have an immediate impact on the APC’s internal electoral process, particularly in constituencies where concerns have been raised about candidate information, transparency, and the handling of uncontested positions.
Political observers say the Commission’s decision reinforces the principle that internal party democracy should be conducted with the same standards of openness and accountability expected in national elections.
The APC is now expected to comply with the directives as preparations continue for its pending constituency elections across the country.