Peoples Democratic Party senatorial candidate in Abia North, Sen Mao Ohuabunwa has said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) breached the Electoral Act by announcing the result of the election after declaring it inconclusive.
Ohuabunwa stated this while speaking with newsmen in Umuahia after the commission declared Sen Orji Uzor Kalu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of last Saturday’s National Assembly election.
“Election did not start until about 4pm, while the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System machine was bypassed in the sending of results at the local government level.
“This is unacceptable to us and we demand that the result be cancelled and fresh election conducted in the affected over 100 polling units in Ohafia and Arochukwu local government areas,” Ohuabunwa said.
The member of the Red Chamber from 2015-2019 said the elections were rescheduled for Sunday and later shifted to Monday in the areas where they could not take place on Saturday.
He argued that by the action, the commission would have disenfranchised about 60,000 voters in the area, who were prepared to exercise their franchise but for the lapses on the its part.
According to him, he had petitioned the commission to do the needful by conducting election in the remaining polling units it declared inconclusive.
“I do not care if somebody wins but the process must be clean and conclusive,” he said.
Voicing his concern about the conduct of the poll, former secretary to the state government and stakeholder in the district, Dr Eme Okoro said he wants the right thing to be done irrespective of who wins the election.
Eme said he was also interested in the emergence of a credible, committed and honest representative for the district, adding that the people must stand up against injustice, malpractice and electoral fraud.
In the same vein, the legal adviser of the party, Barr Gabe Iboko faulted the process of the election and declaration of Kalu as the winner, saying the process was full of premeditated and institutional deceit.
