Senate President Bukola Saraki has advised Senator Ademola Adeleke, candidate of the People Democratic Party (PDP) in the just declared inconclusive election in Osun State to approach the court and seek redress following the failure of the electoral body, (INEC) to declare him winner of the Osun governorship election which was held on Saturday.
The senate president said that INEC was wrong in declaring the election as inconclusive because the votes in certain polling units were cancelled.
“In my lay man’s opinion, the INEC was wrong in declaring the election as inconclusive because the votes in certain polling units were cancelled. The decision of INEC to cancel the election in those areas after voting had taken place means INEC had already excluded the votes in these areas from the election process and therefore those units should have no place in the overall results.
“My opinion would have been different if the election in the affected units did not take place at all, maybe as a result of malfunctioning of the card reader machine or unavailability of the electoral materials. Since the voting took place and was cancelled, only the courts could reverse the initial decision by INEC to cancel the votes in these areas.
“That is why I call on our party and its candidate to seek a further legal interpretation on this decision by the electoral body. One cannot but wonder whether if the places were reversed and the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress was the one leading in the election, the INEC would take the same decision it has taken now.”
“The electoral body needs to reassure all and sundry that the 2019 election and other elections will be free of manipulations and undue interference.
“The INEC should note that the Osun gubernatorial election is not only about that South-western state. It is about our country and the entire world is watching. Our national interest is at stake. The integrity of our electoral system is at stake. The reputation of the electoral body is at stake. The future of our democracy is on the line.
“The way INEC conclusively handles the Osun election will determine global expectations from our political process. It should, therefore, ensure that the wish of the Osun State electorate eventually prevai, Saraki said.”
Recall that the Osun State governorship election of Saturday was declared inconclusive and rerun election date fixed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the candidate of the PDP beat his closest rival of the APC with a closed margin with differnece of 353 votes while votes canceled in some polling units were in excess of 3,000 votes.
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