|
Listen to article
|
A contingent of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State took to the streets on Wednesday, staging a protest outside the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office in Benin City, the state capital, as they raised their voices against perceived injustices in the electoral framework.
Supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), proudly displaying placards and party insignia, rallied together to urge the electoral commission to annul the results of the governorship election held on September 21, 2024, which were declared just a day after the voting concluded.
Protesters passionately claimed that Asue Ighodalo, representing the PDP, was the rightful winner of the election, arguing against the announced victory of Monday Okpebholo from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
They charged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with having altered the election results to benefit the APC, whose candidate was ultimately announced as the governor-elect of the state.
Read also: Tinubu Receives Edo Gov-Elect Okpebholo, Other APC Govs
INEC had declared Okpebholo the winner of the poll. The APC candidate, 54, secured 291,667 votes to defeat Ighodalo who got 247,274 votes and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP) who came a distant third in the race with 22,763 votes. Fourteen other candidates contested the seat but got less than the three frontline candidates.
Both Ighodalo and Akpata expressed their dissatisfaction with the election, alleging that the APC participated in vote buying, an assertion that the winning party has rejected outright. Ighodalo has thus declared his intention to fight the outcome of the election.
