The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has rejected the declaration of the Osun State governorship election conducted on Saturday by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, as inconclusive, describing it as “sordid robbery.
The PDP in a press statement addressed by Kola Ologbondiyan, its National Publicity Secretary, urged INEC to immediately declare Senator Ademola Adeleke, its candidate, as the election winner having garnered more votes.
Joesph Afuwape, the Chief Returning Officer for the election, announced on Sunday that Adeleke polled a number of 254,698, while Gboyega Oyetola, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, garnered 254, 345.
Afuwape, however, declared the election inconclusive becuase the number of total votes voided was higher than the margin of the top two candidates.
But the PDP said the inconclusive declaration of the election by INEC was flawed, stating that the election “was conclusive” as its candidate had fulfilled all necessary requirements as required by law.
“Section 179 (2) (a)(b) of the 1999 Constitution, (as amended), is clear and very unambiguous in spelling out the conditions for returning a candidate to the office of governor of a state,” he said in a statement.
“This section states inter-alia, ‘A candidate for an election to the office of Governor of a State shall be deemed to have been duly elected where, there being two or more candidates – (a) he has the highest number of votes cast at the election; and (b) he has not less than one-quarter of all the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of all the local government areas in the State”, Ologbondiyan said.
The PDP spokesperson accused INEC of colluding with the APC of subverting the will of the people, insisting that the Osun electorate decided to elect Senator Adeleke as their next governor.
The opposition party said the electoral body failed to be courageous at a time when it was needed to be upright.
Ologbondiyan said, “It is obvious that having failed in their schemes to alter the final results due to the resistance of the people, the APC had to bear pressure on INEC to declare the election inconclusive so as to pave way for the perfection of their manipulative schemes, which the people of Osun state have firmly resisted so far.
“Instead of yielding to the evil machination of the APC, INEC should have summoned the patriotic courage to immune itself and end this needless controversy by returning the PDP and declare our candidate as the winner.
“The people of Osun state and the entire nation are already aware that the PDP won this election. They have the authentic figures from the polling units and know the candidate the voters prefer.”
Stating that it would not accept the present election outcome, the PDP said it would “use every force available” to defend its votes.
“It is instructive to state that the PDP will no longer accept inconclusive elections as subterfuge by the APC attain its dubious electoral manipulative schemes in our nation.
“The people by their votes, have overwhelmingly declared for our candidate and we are not ready to accept any attempt by anybody to use any means whatsoever to steal our mandate freely given by the people.
“The PDP is for peace, but we will not hesitate to use every force available in a democracy to face any attempt to subvert the will of the people or rig us out in this election”, Ologbondiyan said.
The PDP called on Mahmood Yakubu, the INEC Chairman, to overrule Afuwape and mandate him to declare its candidate the winner of the election.
“The PDP therefore charges the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu to avoid the fury of the people by immediately reversing this fraudulent decision of the Resident Electoral Commissioner and declaring our candidate the winner of the election.”
