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Senator Athan Achonu, who is vying for the governorship seat in Imo State as the Labour Party candidate in the November 11 election, has appealed to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to maintain strict adherence to electoral rules and regulations during the collation of results.
Senator Achonu who made this statement at the weekend in a message to the press, said ‘It is important and lawful that election results must be collated at the official designated Ward centers, against the move by the umpire to shift it to local Government headquarters for the same purpose,’ said Achonu.
‘Collation of votes at official Ward level is contained in the electoral act and must be adhered to by INEC officials to avoid manipulation.’
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‘I will urge INEC in Imo State to instruct its officials in every Ward to abide by the rules by collating election results at the officially designated Ward level and not take laws into their hands to shift collation of results to local government headquarters that may give room to manipulations,’ he said.
Achonu, in his official statement, raised concerns regarding the destruction of the Isiala-Mbano INEC Office and urged INEC to establish dedicated polling centers for areas experiencing similar incidents to safeguard the integrity of the election.
‘We call on INEC to also publish the names of places and Wards where the election will not hold, for the public to be in the know, to avoid manipulation,’ He said.
Drawing attention to the past, he acknowledged that such situations have taken place, where all election results were transported to either the Local Government headquarters or the State office. It is at this juncture that the potential for election manipulation or the seizure of ballot boxes becomes evident.
‘We don’t want such thing to happen again, as INEC must in its wisdom follow due process to avoid unnecessary challenges and election disputes,’ Achonu added.
