The All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate in the Abia North Senatorial rerun election, Chief (Dr.) David Onuoha-Bourdex, has rejected the outcome of the poll and called for the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators of electoral misconduct in the election.
Onuoha-Bourdex, also blamed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), for breaching its guidelines in the March 5, 2016 repeat election, even as he called on the electoral body to withhold the certificate of return for the election pending the investigation, verification of figures captured by the card reader and reconciliation of same with the figures recorded in the polling unit result sheets by the INEC authorized personnel.
He commended APGA faithful for their “gallantry, doggedness and civilized support even in the face of wanton gangsterism, violence, electoral manipulation and provocation by the Peoples Democratic Party-led state government.”
In a statement signed on his behalf by Chief Nwaka Inem, the APGA senatorial candidate noted that given the violence and widespread malpractices, including ballot box-snatching, collation manipulation and doctoring of results that attended the rerun poll, the election was largely flawed.
While urging INEC to investigate the non-use of card reader for accreditation in Arochukwu, Nkporo, Bende, Isiukwuato and many units, in flagrant disregard of INEC guidelines, Onuoha-Bourdex regretted that high figures were returned despite the general voter apathy that witnessed an all time low turnout of 15 percent.
He alleged that there were glaring criminal and fraudulent doctoring of results from Bende, Umunneochi, Isiukwuato, Nkporo, Ohafia, Arochukwu and many other units by PDP and Peoples Progressive Alliance (PPA) thugs and agents.
Part of the statement read: “Despite all the measures adopted by INEC to conduct a free and fair election, it failed and lacked the courage to implement its guidelines and mandate when they mattered.
“Otherwise, how can INEC justify its inability to carry to a logical conclusion, the card reader, and incident form accreditation and voting as well as the stipulated cross check at the various collation centres?
“Results from many units that were cancelled by the authorized INEC officials were later allowed and readmitted to form part of the fraudulent figures announced.
“Even when the Supervising returning and collating officers, after examining and declaring the election inconclusive before the media, local and international observers, security and party agents with the aim of correcting the absurdity, INEC later made a surprise u-turn, ostensibly succumbing to ‘pressure’ from the state government to declare the PDP candidate as the winner even in the face of glaring irregularities.”
The APGA senatorial candidate, therefore, called for the immediate prosecution of all arrested thugs and party agents used in perpetrating violence and electoral fraud as well as sanctioning of all INEC and security agents that compromised on their duties.
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