The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the main opposition All Progressives Congress, APC, were locked in a tight race last night as Edo State 2024 governorship election inched to the finish line, last night.
At press time, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had uploaded about 95 per cent of the 4,519 polling units’ results on its Result Viewing, IReV, portal. Subject to the official announcement results from IReV showed that the PDP was leading with the APC in hot pursuit.
The Labour Party, LP, which projected the election as a three-horse race was coming a distant third, according to the results on the IReV portal. However, leaders of the PDP and APC, separately, claimed to be leading from results announced so far from the hugely peaceful balloting, in which all shades of voters-the aged, physically challenged and youths defied heavy downpours in many parts of the state to cast their ballot.
Some political heavy-weights won their polling units just as LP candidate, Olumide Akpata, lost his polling unit to PDP’s Asue Ighodalo. Those who won the units included Governor Godwin Obaseki, Ighodalo, PDP deputy governorship candidate, Osarodion Ogie, and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who showed might in Etsako.
We’re in comfortable lead – APC
The APC declared that results so far gathered from its field agents in the Edo State indicated that it was leading, but that it would not preempt the electoral umpire until the conclusion of the process.
Party spokesman, Felix Morka, in a statement, said the party’s attention had been drawn to some reports circulating in sections of social media by certain political parties peddling bogus figures of vote tallies in the ongoing election, and urged “the Edo state electorate and the general public to disregard these bogus and highly speculative reports.”
He continued: “Collation at the Ward level is still ongoing and has yet to be concluded. Certainly, Local Government level collation has yet to begin in most of the LGAs in the state let alone concluded.
“Consistent with the Electoral Act, the Independent National Electoral Commission is the sole authorized body empowered to collate results at the Ward, Local Government and State levels, and to officially declare the result of the election.
“Our great party is comfortably in an early lead, however, as a responsible Party, we will not attempt to preempt INEC’s conclusion of the election process and official declaration of final results. We urge members of the public to disregard this attempted misrepresentation and await INEC’s final verdict on the election.”
PDP charges APC to respect people’s will
However, the PDP directed its members and supporters in Edo State to follow the results of the ongoing governorship election from the polling units to the ward, local government and state collation centers to prevent any manipulation or alteration by the APC.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, the party urged the INEC to ensure that “all results as announced at the polling units are transparently uploaded to the INEC Server and duly declared at the Collation Centers in line with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2022 and INEC Guidelines for the Edo State governorship election.”
Ologunagba continued: “The PDP counsels the APC to respect the will of the people of Edo State as expressed at the polling units.
“The PDP commends the people of Edo State for their resilience in enforcing their will at the polling units despite the schemes of the APC and charges them to remain alert in readiness to firmly defend their votes as they await the declaration of the final result heralding our victory.”