THE Presidency may have directed Iwu to announce a definite date for the conclusion of the election.
According to The Guardian sources, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua yesterday met with Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, the President of the Senate, Senator David Mark and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, in his office reportedly over the Ekiti polls.
Also at the meeting were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed; Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa, National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Sarki Muktar; Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mike Okiro and Director-General of the State Security Service (SSS), Mr. Afakriya Gadzama.
In addition, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, was also in attendance.
The source said the meeting asked Prof. Iwu to “immediately go on air and announce the date for the conclusion of the election in the two wards in Oye Local Council Area of Ekiti State.”
The source also dismissed any insinuation that President Yar’Adua has any inclination to declare a state of emergency in the state.
Earlier, amidst widespread protests, and claims and counter-claims of victory by contending parties, Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Maurice Iwu, yesterday had given a “No result” verdict on the re-run elections in Ekiti State.
This, according to him, is due to the commission’s inability to produce the election results of two wards in Oye Local Council of the state due to alleged electoral violence and the illness of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of the State, Mrs. Ayoka Adebayo, who allegedly broke down on Sunday. However, he declared that the Action Congress (AC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), so far, ran neck-to-neck.
Iwu also announced the indefinite postponement of bye-elections in the affected wards.
This is the first among the five re-run gubernatorial elections arising from the 2007 general elections, when the INEC is unable to announce the winner of the polls. In the previous occasions in Kogi, Adamawa, Sokoto and Bayelsa states, winners emerged a day after the elections and victory was awarded to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Briefing the press yesterday, the INEC boss said it was not possible for the REC to declare a winner of the election, which was conducted on Saturday, without conducting elections in the remaining two registration areas in Oye Council Area.
Iwu said: “It is impossible for the REC therefore to declare a winner of the governorship election in Ekiti State without conducting the election in the remaining two registration areas (wards) in Oye Council and obtaining results therefrom.
“Now, going by the scores of the candidates in the election, the two leading contenders are running neck-to-neck. The expected votes in the remaining local government area of Oye is in the neighbourhood of 18,000 going by the number of registered voters.
“It is therefore sad that an election that ought to have been concluded and a winner announced has once more been prolonged due to primarily, the recalcitrant conduct of politicians who seem determined to bug down the electoral system and process in the country at every turn.”
Nevertheless, Iwu commended the conduct of the security personnel drafted to oversee the election, which he said, accounted for a smooth take-off of the election process. The atmospherics of the elections however changed later on, he noted, “when politicians and their gangs moved to undermine the process.”
“In all, the election was concluded in nine of the 10 local government areas and in 61 of the 63 registration areas (wards). Results from the polling centres were signed off by the agents of the political parties as required by law.
“The Commission had first scheduled to conduct election in the remaining local government area in the affected wards on Sunday April 26, 2009. However, I was informed yesterday (Sunday) afternoon that as a result of the pressure of the exercise, the Resident Electoral Commissioner broke down and took ill, the commission had no choice but to postpone the remaining election,” he added.
The INEC boss deflected any responsibility of intervening in the process, saying the REC is accountable to the President who appointed her to the office.
“Please note that the Resident Electoral Commissioners are the Returning Officers for governorship elections in the states, according to Section 28 (2)(g) of the Electoral Act. In performing the role of the Returning Officer, she is independent and is not directed by anybody. We are not in any way influenced by the noise, we are guided by our own decision,” he said.
Fielding questions from reporters on the possible date to conduct elections in the affected wards, Iwu said: “We have 90 days to conclude the exercise because the court was very clear on that. If she is unavoidably absent, we will know what to do. But for now, if someone is sick for about 28 to 48 hours, it will be hasty for us to go ahead. That is the issue with her.”
He said he was not certain about the nature of the sickness of the REC.
But the AC governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has continued to lay claim to victory.
In a chat with journalists yesterday, he said a winner has emerged in the election, adding that INEC should be held responsible for their refusal to announce the winner of the election – having collated results from 11 of the 16 councils in the state from both the re-run election and the validated result of the 2007 election in the state.
He stressed that it was important for INEC to announce the winner now to prevent the state from sliding into anarchy, pointing out that the constitutional requirement for his emergence as the governor of the state has been met.
According to him, the results collated in 11 local councils by the INEC before the stalemate, substantially complied with the Electoral Act 2006, which stipulates that a candidate who scored 25 per cent in the two-thirds of the local councils had met the requirement to be returned as the Governor.
According to him, “the winner has already emerged, because I know I have scored 25 per cent in two-thirds of the 16 local councils of this state. So, I see no reason why INEC should delay the announcement.
“Election in 11 local councils is valid and complied substantially with the Electoral Act 2006,” he said.
On the disputed results from Ido/Osi where PDP polled over 15,000 as against 3,500 of the AC, Fayemi said only results in the three collated wards in the local council were valid to be accepted by INEC.
He said: “I imagine what they are taking this country for, the INEC was busy collating at the INEC office, when suddenly the PDP people stormed the place with several of snatched ballot boxes, which they wanted to exchange.
“They were resisted by the Police and it was too bad that in an attempt to have their ways, four of our agents were shot and their legs and arms had been amputated now. Even, the three policemen on guard were shot and they are now being hospitalised.
“The question now is this, if they know that the PDP is committed to the rule of law, do they expect their blood ballots to be accepted? You cannot get your mandate through the back door. You can only get it through the people. So, the election collated outside the INEC office in Ido-Ekiti could only be a refuse and not a ballot.”
He also lauded the performance of the Police in the re-run election, saying some of the policemen deployed for the election did well while some compromised their professionalism.
He specifically commended the state MOPOL Commander, Mr. Samuel Erale, whom he said saved some journalists and observers from the jaws of death at Ifaki-Ekiti, while being beaten by hoodlums suspected to be PDP thugs. Ifaki-Ekiti is the country-home of Mr. Segun Oni, the PDP candidate in the election.
He called for the prosecution of those that were arrested in an attempt to foment trouble during the Saturday election to serve as deterrent to others in future elections.
Fayemi also implored the police to arrest and prosecute all the politicians that are posing as godfathers to miscreants and thugs in the state in the interest of peace and security.
However, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state has also called for the immediate release of the results.
Addressing a press conference yesterday, chairman of the Publicity Committee of the Segun Oni Campaign Organisation (SOCO), Mr. Dayo Adeyeye, said the party was at a loss as to why INEC was reluctant at declaring the results of the election pending the conduct of a rescheduled election in Oye-Ekiti.
According to him, the re-run took place and cannot be over-tuned by anybody or party no matter how aggressive and desperate they may appear.
“The process of conducting election and collating the results is very clear. This we have followed to the letter. It is a common knowledge that results of this election are no longer secret in that following the successful conduct of the polls, the results at the polling units were duly recorded in Form EC8A, which were later collated into Form EC8B at the ward level and Form EC8C at the local council level. All these were concluded on the day of the election.
He also spoke on the disputed election results in Ido/Osi, saying it was amusing that the AC was crying wolf over the outcome of the election which recorded 15,939 in favour of the PDP candidate.
He called on INEC to release the results of the re-run election immediately and conduct the rescheduled election in the two wards of Oye within the next two days with maximum security to forestall a repeat of last Saturday’s experience.
“It is inexplicable and untenable that INEC, which conducted the national election and indeed last Saturday’s election in 61 wards, will now find it impossible to conduct election in just two wards.
“It is also worrisome that the Police, which maintained peace for election that was held in the whole country, will now be handicapped to maintain peace in just two wards of one local government.
“We want to make it clear that the call on INEC to release the results is only a formality as the results are already in possession of the public. Failure of INEC to declare the existing results and conduct the remaining ones is a call for anarchy,” he declared.
Wild protests swept through some major towns in Ekiti State as youths demanded the release of the results of the re-run.
But the major flash-points, including Ido, Oye, Ifaki and Ikere, were largely peaceful as residents went about their daily activities.
Protest against the delay in the announcement of the results spread through Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, Efon, Ise-Ekiti, Aramoko, Omuo-Ekiti and Ikere-Ekiti where youths, mostly supporters of the AC, claimed that the AC candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, should be declared winner.
In Ado-Ekiti, the youths had massed at the popular Fajuyi Park as early as 8.00 a.m. from where they took to the streets calling for the release of the election results.
The protesting youths, numbering over 500, went through Okesa to Ereguru, Old Garage, Ijigbo, Irona, GRA, Onigari, Secretariat Road, Textile Junction before ending it at Basiri area of the town.
They were armed with white handkerchiefs, leaves and placards calling on INEC not to allow itself to be used to abort the wishes of the people.
The protest, though peaceful, forced many shop owners to close for the day. Banks and government offices did the same.
Also, mobile policemen from the command headquarters who were deployed to the streets in anticipation of violence monitored the protesters from a distance while urging them to be orderly.
Some of the placards read: “INEC Release Election Results Now”; “Fayemi is Our Governor” ; INEC Must Declare Fayemi as the Winner of the Election” “No to Election Rigging”; “Maurice Iwu Redeem Your Image”, “Ekiti People Have Spoken and they Have Voted for Fayemi.”