Ikpeazu said that over 50,000 PDP supporters could not vote due to non-provision and late arrival of electoral materials in most of the polling units in the six local government areas of the constituency.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to undo the declaration of Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe as winner of Abia South Senatorial poll.
The Returning Officer for the election, Prof Georgina Ugwuanyi, had early morning on Tuesday declared the election inconclusive but returned in the afternoon to announce winners.
Ugwuanyi declared Abaribe winner despite voting not being held in 108 polling units.
Ikpeazu, who spoke through the PDP senatorial election collation agent, Charles Esonu, noted that there were over 200, 000 voters in the 108 polling units where election did not hold.
Ikpeazu, who contested the Abia South senatorial seat at the February 25 poll, said that the affected areas had a cumulative voter population of over 200, 000 which was more than the votes scored by the parties.
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He described the declaration as a “charade and brazen display of partiality” because the number of voters who did not vote were more than the total votes scored by the parties.
He expressed shock that the INEC Returning Officer still went ahead despite protests from party agents, to declare winners in an inconclusive election which INEC had earlier scheduled a date for.
Ikpeazu said that over 50,000 PDP supporters could not vote due to non-provision and late arrival of electoral materials in most of the polling units in the six local government areas of the constituency.
He also alleged that complaints by the PDP agents over the manipulation of election results and bypass of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) were ignored by INEC officials.
He described INEC’s action as “irrational, biased, undemocratic” and demanded urgent nullification of the declaration of a winner in an inconclusive election.
Ikpeazu also called for the immediate rescheduling of election in the 108 polling units in the constituency where voting did not hold.