Press Release
INEC must follow its own rules and guidelines
We have received reports of plans to disenfranchise a large population of Abia North voters, especially at Nkporo in Ohafia Local Government Area, Bende and Arochukwu in Arochukwu Local Government Area by awarding undeserved victory to one of the contestants in yesterday’s Senatorial election.
This plan sponsored by desperate All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders in cahoot with rogue INEC ad hoc staff, if implemented, will make nonsense of elections as expression of the popular will of the people through the ballot and, hence, is unacceptable to Abia voters who braved the barrage of intimidation code named “federal might” to come out and exercise their civic rights yesterday.
We wish to call on INEC to collate and declare the full result from all the units in Nkporo Local Government, Arochukwu, and avoid falling prey to the plan of APC to subvert the will of the people of Abia North Senatorial zone.
For the sake of argument, even if there are cogent reasons to cancel results from some units, according to INEC’s published guideline for 2019 polls, that should render the outcome inconclusive and a fresh election conducted in the affected locations.
We wish to note that the total number of registered voters in the affected area of Nkporo, for instance, is 21, 360 and so far the officially collated results indicate that no Senatorial candidate is leading with up to that margin. Same applies to Bende local government area result for the senate and federal House of Representatives.
INEC authorities are therefore called upon to follow their own rules in collating and declaring the Abia North Senatorial and other results to reassure voters that the previous reports of collusion with one of the candidates to rig the poll is not true.
Chief John Okiyi Kalu
Honorable Commissioner For Information, Abia State
24/2/19
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