Election observer group, identified as ‘The Peoples Advocates’, has faulted the just concluded local government poll in Rivers State.
TPA, in its report on the ballot, said that the exercise was not credible due to some number of irregularities.
Recall that the controversial poll was held across 23 local government areas in the oil rich State, despite moves by the loyalists of the former governor, Nyesom Wike, to stop it.
INFORMATION NIGERIA had reported that candidates of the All People’s Party, won 22 out of the 23 LGAs.
Reacting to the outcome of the election, in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday, TPA noted that the poll witnessed several irregularities.
The statement partly reads: “While we appreciate the effort of RSIEC to conduct this election at such a tough time as this in the political history of Rivers State, we believe that there is need for improvements in order to set a fair playing ground for all political parties and candidates in order to ensure a free and fair election.
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“At Phalga LGA, D. Line Ward 1 units 8,9,10; Ward 4 units 48, 49, 50, 51; Ogbunabali Ward 3, Ward 2, Oroworukwu Ward 9 units 5,6,7,8,9 etc, the absence of Result Sheet undermined the credibility of the process because Agents of Labour Party and other interested Political Parties asked for Result Sheets and moved to stop the polls if the Result Sheets weren’t produced.
“This systemic flop of RSIEC affected the credibility of the polls and risked the life of the Ad-hoc staff.
“Our Situation Room observed that the process did not create any solid internal mechanism for grievance or dissent before the results are announced. Such pattern may encourage violence or discourage genuine candidates who have legitimate complaint.
“Irregularities in some polling units should be addressed before results are announced. This is to avoid announcing results in polling units where elections did not hold or where the election was fraught with fraud, snatching of ballot materials, violence etc.
“Some of such incidents were witnessed in this election and the candidates affected, would be left with the only option of going to court. This is a systemic flaw, capable of occasioning injustice.
“Our observers were lost as to where your Ward and State Collation should take place and who is allowed into your “holy sanctuary” to witness the collation and how you arrived at your results.
“A closed collation process is prone to manipulations and should be avoided. Cumulated Results should be fact-checked with polling unit results for credibility. The truth is that the entire election lacks credibility.”
