The Oyo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Saturday asked the Oyo state Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to cancel the state local government election.
APC in a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Comrade Wale Sadare, said OYSIEC should choose another date for a proper conduct of a free and fair election .
Describing the local government election as “a sham which is capable of causing the Pacesetter state untold disrepute if allowed to stand’, saying “and for this not to happen, the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has to halt the exercise and reschedule it for another day when it is ready to conduct a free, fair and credible poll”.
“OYSIEC has failed to accommodate more than 80 per cent of the eligible voters in the state today and there is no way the meagre 20 per cent of people who were lucky to cast their votes in a lawful manner can decide the fate of the vast majority.”
The party added, “Obviously, the Commission allowed a few people to cast their votes at the polling units while the balance of majority rights to vote was secretly handed down to the PDP. Any electoral victory given behind close door is illegitimate, tainted and unacceptable. Therefore, we call for the total cancellation of the whole exercise as it was done today.”
“Reports from across the state indicate that cases of non-availability of election officials, disenfranchisement of eligible voters, shortage of voting materials, violence and threat to life were recorded while the electoral commission appeared helpless to rescue the situation even as voters waited endlessly in most the places affected”.
APC stressed, “Another opportunity to deepen democracy and return power to the people at the grassroots has had to be missed due to the insensitivity and insincerity on the part of the ruling class in the state, adding,” another opportunity to deepen democracy and return power to the people at the grassroots has had to be missed due to the insensitivity and insincerity on the part of the ruling class in the state
“With what is happening at the moment in most Polling Units across the state, Gov. Seyi Makinde has again disappointed the whole world. He promised the people that their votes would count today but the opposite is the case. The good people of the state desired to participate in an election to elect a new set of council officials but what they are experiencing is nothing but a sham.”
Oyo APC emphasised further that “Even if OYSIEC comes out later to declare all the candidates of the APC, we would not rate this election as credible and acceptable as it falls below the minimum global standard of election conduct. The best thing is for the Commission to suspend the exercise and choose another date for a proper conduct rather continue to connive with a few anti-democratic elements in the ruling PDP to perpetrate electoral fraud and desecration of democracy in the land.”
The party noted “For the avoidance of doubt, OYSIEC started with back and forth position on the need to deploy the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for the for the conduct of the poll. Few days ago, the Commission recruited PDP members as its adhoc staff and this same set of people were saddled with the responsibilities of conduct today’s poll and they have been carrying out the script given to them by the powers-that-be in the state.
“What could be the rationale behind taking 500 pieces of ballot papers to a Polling Unit where about 1,500 registered as eligible voters?”OYSIEC failed to mobile officials to attend to prospective voters in key polling units while it also released inadequate voting materials to virtually all the polling units.”
