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The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Action Democratic Party (ADP) have described the result of the just-concluded Ekiti State governorship election as “unacceptable.”
Biodun Oyebanji, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was announced winner of the election, on Sunday.
Oyebanji secured 187,057 votes, to defeat his closest challenger, Segun Oni of the SDP who polled 82,211 votes. Bisi Kolawole of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got 67,457 votes to place third.
Speaking on Sunday in Ado Ekiti, Owoseni Ajayi, collation agent of the SDP, said the party rejected result of the election.
He added that the outcome would be challenged at the tribunal.
He also said the SDP candidate dismissed the result announced by the electoral body, adding that it did not reflect the true decision of the people.
“We are rejecting the results because the election was characterised by violence and intimidation of voters.
“As a result, we will definitely challenge the outcome of this result in the court of law for posterity and generations coming to know that when conducting elections, you must follow the rules and procedures,” he said.
The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has also rejected the result of the governorship election.
In a statement issued in Ado Ekiti and signed by Femi Eponlolaye, the state chairman of ADP , Kemi Elebute-Halle, the party’s governorship candidate, alleged that the election was characterised by vote buying and harassment of her party members.
“The victory of Mr Biodun Oyebanji in the just concluded governorship election ordinarily would have been accepted by me, if the election had not been fraught by electoral malpractices.
“In spite of various sensitisation programmes and media publicity against vote buying, the APC, PDP and SDP actually promoted and encouraged corruption, both at the grassroots and the state levels.
“Though the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has pronounced Oyebanji as the winner of this election, I, Kemi Elebute-Halle, hereby reject the result of this election.
“It was not credible, neither was it free nor fair. His APC thugs destabilised my strongholds across the state, attacked our members, snatched and destroyed our ballot boxes.
“All those votes, including those obtained by PDP, will be cancelled at the tribunal.
“I want to use this medium to urge my followers not to be discouraged about the outcome of the election. We shall continue to promote our great party, the ADP,” She said.