Kogi West/Ajaokuka Rerun Election: CDD calls for credible process, deploys observers

Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) has urged those involved in Saturday, November 30, 2019 rerun election to give room for credible process as voters in the Kogi West Senatorial District and Ajaokuta Federal Constituency will be going to the affected polling units to cast their votes tomorrow.

The CDD call was conatined in a statement signed by its Director, Idayat Hassan, which called on all the electoral stakeholders, particularly the Independent Electoral Commission and the security agencies, to redeem themselves by giving room for a credible process. It however observed that November 16 polls in Kogi and Bayelsa States were characterised by violence, voter intimidation and brazen electoral fraud.

The statement reads: “This supplementary election is an opportunity for the electoral stakeholders, especially INEC and the security agencies, to address the many flaws we saw on November 16.

“CDD observation showed that the polls of November 16 were seriously tainted by a myriad of electoral malpractices, which fundamentally undermined the integrity of the process and outcomes in Kogi and Bayelsa states. CDD hopes the security agencies, which failed to protect voters and poll officials the last time out, have taken due note of the local and international condemnation which greeted their abysmal performance on November 16, and are ready to make amends.

“Apart from the task of ensuring that the electoral space is safe, CDD calls on the respective agencies to proactively curb the menace of vote-buying, which would be rife in this supplementary election.”

According to Hassan, the CDD Election Analysis Centre (EAC) would be deploying its accredited non-partisan observers across the polling units supplementary election will be held.

She, therefore, called on the electoral umpire to ensure voters who come out to exercise their franchise are not let down by logistic lapses.

“CDD calls on eligible voters to come out to vote for a candidate of their choice. We equally restate our call to political actors to play by the rules, and refrain from sponsoring thugs to disrupt the process and cause harm to voters and poll officials,” she said.

The Kogi West Senatorial District supplementary poll is to hold in 53 polling units across seven local governments with 45,767 registered voters.

INEC will also hold elections in 22 polling units with 15,438 registered voters in the Ajaokuta Federal

Constituency.   Lawal Idris

Aloysius Okino

Recall that Hon. Idris Mohammed had been declared winner of Ajaokuta Federal constituency and also won at the tribunal.

However, in an appeal filed by peoples Democratic candidate, Aloysious Okino, the court  ruled otherwise, calling for a rerun.

According to the judgement, PDP candidate is said to be ahead with about one thousand votes.

It is left to be seen how the who emerges, even as  some pundits have tipped APC to carry the day both for the Senate and the House of Representatives contest given the outcome of the last governorship elections and the growing popularity of APC at the moment. It is left for the event to prove predictions right or otherwise.