Edo Governorship Election Results: INEC Knocked, Urged to Defend Democracy
by by Bada Yusuf · Legit.ng News · Join- INEC has been knocked over its inability to upload the complete Edo governorship election results on its IREV portal one week after the election
- Eniola Daniels, a political analyst, in an exclusive interview with Legit.ng, said the commission did not deploy electoral materials on time to the stronghold of certain political parties
- Among others, the commission was accused of not providing a level playing ground for political parties in Edo state during the election
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been knocked over its delay in uploading the Edo governorship election results on its result view portal (IREV) five days after declaring the winner of the poll.
Recall that INEC declared Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner of the Edo state governorship election that took place on Saturday, September 21.
According to INEC, the APC candidate polled 291,667 votes, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asue Ighodalo, came second with 247,274 votes. Meanwhile, Labour Party's Olumide Akpata emerged third with 22,763 votes.
However, a check on INEC's IREV portal on Saturday, September 28, a week after the election, indicated that the commission had yet to upload the election results completely.
Analyst reacts to INEC's Edo performance
Eniola Daniel, a political analyst, reacted to the development in an interview with Legit.ng, criticise INEC over its performance in the Saturday, September 21 governorship election. His statement reads:
"The same thing happened in 2015 and 2019. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the greatest enemy and threat to credible elections in Nigeria.
"INEC's actions undermine the principles of free, fair elections in Nigeria. The commission's refusal to deploy voting materials on time to certain political party strongholds during the election raises serious questions about its commitment to ensuring a transparent process.
"The presence of political appointees from the APC in key positions within INEC further compromised the integrity of the election. This conflict of interest has the potential to facilitate electoral malpractices and cast doubt on the credibility of the entire process.
Edo Election: Analyst points out INEC failure
Daniel accused INEC of failing to provide a level playing ground for political parties during the just concluded Edo governorship election. He said:
"INEC’s failure to guarantee a level playing field for all political parties is a disservice to Nigeria’s democracy.
"Let us embrace electronic voting to end this madness. The world is moving on while we are stuck and always taking steps backwards. INEC is a mockery of our democracy and our status amongst nations.
"I pray it is well with Nigeria, but it’s currently not well with the country."
Ighodalo rejects Okpebholo's call for unity government
Legit.ng earlier reported that the PDP governorship candidate in Edo, Asue Ighodalo, has said he is not ready to heed the calls for a unity government from his APC counterpart and election winner, Monday Okpebholo.
Okpebholo, the governor-elect, had made the call soon after he was declared the winner of the election, but Ighodalo claimed he was rigged out of the election.
Ighodalo then expressed confidence in regaining his stole mandate at the governorship election tribunal while noting that he was only hearing the Okpebholo speak for the first time.