‘Shameful selection’ — AAC rejects Edo LG election results

The African Action Congress (AAC) has rejected the outcome of the local government election in Edo state.

On September 2, the state held the LGA election across the 18 local government areas, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winning all the chairperson seats.

Godwin Obaseki, governor of the state, described the voting process as peaceful, adding that he was surprised at the level of voter turnout despite the rains.

In a statement on Tuesday, AAC described the election as a “shambolic shameful selection by the ruling party”.

The party also said election did not hold in some LGAs but the candidates of the PDP were declared winners.

AAC called for the cancellation of the election results and demanded that a new date be fixed for a fresh vote.

“We openly write to oppose the shambolic local government elections supposedly held on Saturday 2nd September, 2023,” the statement reads.

“Having partook in the stakeholders meeting held on the 23rd of August 2023, the EDSIEC chairman openly told us in his written speech on paragraph five, that the elections will be free and that all parties will be given equal opportunities which was breached by the ruling party.

“We want to state categorically without any fear of contradiction that the local government election did not take place anywhere in Ovia, Uhunmwode and in fact across the 18 local governments in Edo state.

“In a few places where the election was held, insufficient ballot papers were brought with no single result sheets. But at the end of the day, results were churned out with the candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) returning elected.

“We therefore call for immediate cancellation of the shameful selection that took place in Edo state and that a new date be fixed for the proper conduct of local government election in Edo state.”

The Labour Party (LP) had also described the election as a “mockery of democracy” and alleged that electoral officers came late or did not show up at all in some polling units.

LP added that in certain areas where the election held, ballot papers were insufficient.