A group of domestic observers has rejected the results of the gubernatorial elections in ten states, which were released by the Indepe-ndent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying that the conduct of the elections was anything but free and fair.
The states are Anambra, Adamawa, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo and Rivers.
In a preliminary report released yesterday at a press conference in Abuja, the group cited various irregularities in the conduct including hoarding of results sheets by INEC, lack of secrecy in balloting, underage voting, non inclusion of pictures and/or names of candidates on the ballot paper, alleged partisanship of INEC officials, snatching of ballot boxes and papers, intimidation of voters and high number of deaths during the exercise.
The group, which comprised the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), Labour Monitoring Team, Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Alliance for Credible Elections (ACE), Muslim League for Accountability (MULAC), Women Environmental Pro-gramme (WEP),and Feder-ation of Muslim Women Association of Nigeria (FOMWAN), decried the cancellation of the Imo State governorship election.
Speaking on behalf of the group, Innocent Chukwuma, chairman of the TMG, questioned INEC�s rationale for the cancellation, arguing that if violence trailed the governorship election, it must have affected the state house of assembly whose results were upheld by INEC as well.
The group also questioned why INEC did not cancel the results of other states like Edo, Ondo and others, where violence was also recorded.
The group again put a question mark on Delta state results because the INEC headquarters announced PDP as the winner when its Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state said the results was still being collated.
The group condemned alleged attacks on observers in certain parts of the country, simply because they happened to be at the points where negotiations were allegedly being made with INEC officials to take away ballot boxes, and called for adequate protection at all polling booths.
Deploring INEC’s preparations for the elections, the group accused INEC of disenfranchising thousands of voters who could not find their names on the voters� register and others who could not vote because names/or photographs of their preferred candidates were not on the ballot.
The group which said it deployed a total of 60,000 observers throughout the country disclosed that two of its observers, Ellah and Obinna, were abducted but later released in Abia State, and another was wounded seriously in Bauchi while a third was shot in Benue.
Apr172007