…Thanks Kwarans for their enthusiasm towards rescuing their LGs
The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kwara State has rejected the outcome of Saturday’s Local Government election in the state, describing it as a desecration of democracy, a waste of taxpayers’ money and an elevation of fraud to heights never witnessed before in the state.
The PDP accused the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, under Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, of alleged connivance with the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC) to manipulate the local government election and subvert the people’s will.
The Party, in a statement issued on Monday, September 23, 2024, in Ilorin, called for immediate cancellation of the election and conduct of a fresh poll, or it will explore legal means to restore the stolen mandate of the people.
It, however, called for a properly constituted tribunal to be headed by a judge of the High Court, as required by the law, rejecting the one set up by the Abdulrazaq led administration for falling short of constitutional stipulations.
In the statement titled, “Desecration of Democracy during the September 21 Kwara State Local Government Elections”, and signed by its State Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, Kwara PDP berated KWSIEC for allowing itself to be used in the conduct of a shoddy election, which allegedly denied over 85% of the electorates their right to vote in polling units across the 16 local government areas of the state.
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The statement read, “The crude manner in which the ruling APC government, in connivance with a highly compromised Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC), usurped the people’s mandate to elect their local leaders has left Kwarans frustrated and aggrieved.
“KWSIEC’s actions on election day not only fell short of the minimum global standards expected of an election umpire but also openly facilitated and participated in the desecration of democracy that occurred across Kwara State.
The statement further alleged that “Elections did not take place in about 85% of polling units and wards across the 16 local government areas of the state. The people rejected an orchestrated plot to use the few ballot papers released to some polling units as a basis for authenticating a premeditated outcome.”
The PDP said contrary to the declaration by KWSIEC that the APC won, the PDP won in the few areas where the election was held, but it was cancelled, and officials were forced to announce the APC candidates as the winners.
“Where elections were held, the people massively voted for PDP candidates, and in several instances, they were declared winners before KWSIEC officials reversed these victories in a shocking display of impunity.
“In Kwara Central and parts of Kwara North, particularly in Patigi Local Government, PDP candidates won resoundingly. KWSIEC officials validly sorted, counted, and declared our candidates victorious, with some of these moments captured and shared on social media.
“However, these victories were magically overturned. The results, which were declared in favour of PDP candidates in places like Ilorin West, Ilorin South, Ilorin East, and Asa LG, were manipulated, with cooked-up figures announced to favour APC candidates.
“The case in Patigi Local Government was particularly shameful. The Electoral Officer (EO) was kidnapped by the APC thugs, forced into a room, and made to declare PDP’s results invalid under duress. This video, which has been circulated widely, shows an EO speaking against his will. Despite this, the same invalid results were later announced in favour of APC, even though no new election took place,’ he said.
Adewara further alleged that the situation was the same in Kwara South Senatorial district, as electorates across almost all polling units refused to allow voting, due to the failure of KWSIEC to provide election result sheets and complete ballot papers.
“In the Kwara South district, elections did not take place in Offa, Oyun, Irepodun, Ifelodun, Ekiti, and Oke Ero local government areas.
“KWSIEC officials were either unavailable or deliberately delayed their arrival at polling units, only to refuse to provide materials when they eventually showed up. In many locations, the number of ballot papers released was no more than 10% of the number of registered voters, while in others, no materials were delivered at all.
“These deliberate actions were aimed at disenfranchising voters and manipulating the outcome of the elections. Moreover, KWSIEC officials at several polling units had no result sheets and were instructed to record results on pages torn from notebooks, further evidencing the fraudulent nature of the process.”
The PDP lampooned Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq for allegedly orchestrating the electoral fraud and dragging the reputation of Kwara State through the mud.
“Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq was never interested in a fair election; his sole focus has been on securing access to local government allocations, which the Supreme Court has ruled should be paid directly to the councils.
“The Governor has staged this electoral coup to install his loyalists at the helm of local government affairs, ensuring that he can continue siphoning funds as he has done through his undemocratic Transition Implementation Committees (TICs) for the past five years.
It also lambasted the chairman of KWSIEC, Alhaji Okanla Baba, for allegedly sacrificing his dignity by allowing himself to be used as a tool for electoral manipulation.
“Alhaji Okanla Baba, the chairman of KWSIEC, had promised during his inauguration not to disappoint the Governor. It is now clear that he was not only committed to that promise but willing to sacrifice all rationality and the dignity of Kwara State to deliver on the Governor’s undemocratic agenda.”
The party thanked its members, supporters and the good people of Kwara State for turning out en masse to exercise their civil rights. It called for fresh polls by the state government, a failure which might force the party to seek legal intervention.
“Our position as a party is clear: no legitimate election took place in the 16 LGAs and 192 wards of Kwara State on September 21, 2024. The farce that occurred was nothing more than a waste of taxpayer resources and a disgrace to democracy.
“The people of Kwara have rejected this charade, and we call for the immediate cancellation of the election results. We demand the conduct of free, fair, and transparent elections that will allow the true will of the people to prevail.
“Finally, it is important to note that even the Election Petition Tribunal lacks the legal authority to adjudicate these cases, as it was not validly constituted.
“We advised the government that the law requires the tribunal to be headed by a judge of the High Court, supported by a Khadi of the Sharia Court of Appeal and three Chief Magistrates. Instead, the Abdulrazaq administration appointed two Chief Magistrates as heads of the two panels, flagrantly violating the law,” the party said.
