LG election: PDP winning in my polling unit shows APC didn’t manipulate e-voting, says el-Rufai

Nasir El-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winning in his polling unit in the LG election shows that the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not manipulate the e-voting machines.

On September 4, Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (KADSIECOM) conducted the LG elections using electronic voting.

Prior to this, the state was the first in the country to adopt electronic voting in its last LG poll in 2018.

However, the APC lost in the polling unit of el-Rufai in the state’s LG elections on Saturday.

Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television programme on Monday, el-Rufai said the outcome of the election shows that the ruling party did not interfere with the programming of the electronic voting machines.

He also said the results from the election shows that there is no division in the state, adding that it serves as evidence that the people are finally making electoral choices based on the performance of their elected officials.

“Those that reported that the machines were programmed were ashamed when it was reported that APC lost in my polling unit. People were laughing that I lost my polling unit, but it is democracy that won,” he said.

“I’m not on the ballot, so it is not a referendum on me, it is a referendum on the councilor and the performance of the chairman of the local council. The loss of my polling unit shows that we did not programme these machines; we did not influence our independent electoral commission, and the whole thing has worked very well.

“The results of the election so far are a unifying moment for our state which is what we have been working on. We want to work against the narrative that the PDP is a party for a part of the state, while the APC is a party for another. Some people say PDP is a party of a religious affiliation, while the APC is that of another.

“The results of the election clearly show that we are finally uniting Kaduna state and people are making choices based on the performance of elected officials.”

Reacting to issues that marred the electoral process, the governor said though results of elections in two LGAs are still contentious because the machines did not function, he believes the exercise went “reasonably well”.

He also said though there was little that could have been done to stop thugs from snatching electoral machines, the machines can be remotely disconnected to avoid interference with results.

“There are issues that came up and the electoral commission is working on them. Two LGAs are still contentious, the results have not been communicated to me. I have been told that in Kachia, one of the LGAs, the election is inconclusive, because the machines did not function in many polling units. Soba is awaited but so far I will say that the exercise has gone reasonably well,” he said.

“There is little we can do to avoid thugs snatching electoral machines, but you should know that these machines are programmed to be disconnected remotely by the electoral commission. The machine also provides its GPS location so you can target and go and recover it.”