Cancel Edo Assembly Re-run Election - Labour Party

By Lucky Isibor

The Edo State chapter of Labour Party (LP), has called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to cancel last Saturday's House of Assembly re-run elections in Oredo East and Egor constituencies in Edo State. The party noted that what happened on Saturday at the various polling stations was not an election but a charade which must not stand.

Edo State chairman of Labour Party, Mr. Kelly Ogbaloi, made the party's position known at a news briefing at the Edo State secretariat of the party, adding that fierce looking young men were stationed in all the polling units where the re-run election were to hold, denying supporters of Labour Party access to the polling arena. 

Ogbaloi stated further that fierce looking young men who he alleged are not from Edo State, also took over the polling stations at Egor pointing out that they even out numbered the number of security agents deployed for the election. 

While deploring the blocking of its party members from accessing the polling stations, the Labour Party chairman gave a blow by blow account of how their members were dehumanised while try to gain access to the polling arena, adding that one of them was knocked down by a vehicle at Agbado Primary School polling station while try to escape from his assailants.

"We have come today as a party, Labour Party, to dissociate ourselves from the charade they call election in Oredo East. We observe that, that was not an election, but just a charade. Those we do not know in Edo State have introduced brigandage into the re-run election and we have to report to our people that Labour Party is not part of this. 

"An election where we were refused participation totally cannot be said to be an election where we participated.

As I speak with you, in ward 1, some of the officials of Labour Party were beaten and lying in the hospital now. It cannot be imagined that the gates leading to the primary schools, venues where the rerun election is taking place, the gates are shut against voters and officials of political parties and in there, it's only officials of PDP government that are allowed to be inside there. 

"When we approach the voting arena, we're asked of our identity and our political party and when you say Labour Party, they tell us to go away. And in some cases when we are allowed in and they find out that we truly vote our party, they beat us, tear our clothes and push us out. 

"In Ward 12, Agbado Primary School, One of our supporters was beaten and in the process of running away was knocked down by a vehicle and is currently hospitalised as I speak with you now.

"At Ivbiore, in Ugbor, the gates to the voting arena are shut, nobody is able to access it and where few of us access the place, we're beaten and thrown out of the place.

"At Ugbor Market, fierce looking young men are there chasing away voters. We can't even approach the voting arena because of the way the venue is arranged.

"At Ovbiegie, same thing happened, we were not allowed to come in, we did not vote. If in all of these voting venues we were refused entry, to vote, then what kind of rerun election can that be?

So, we're reporting that we should consider this result not any exercise that ever took place and therefore we ask that the rerun exercise in Oredo East be cancelled because the rerun election was a rerun meant and ran by PDP agents and government of the day.

"The rerun organised by INEC today is shoddy and it's not anything to go bye and cannot be accepted by Labour Party. We dissociate ourselves from it, we are not part of it, we did not vote and so INEC must consider what to do in this regard. And what they should do is cancel this completely and fix further rerun where the law enforcement agencies, INEC itself will be prepared to make the exercise the one that all of us can fully participate without molestation".

The Labour Party also called on INEC to reinstate the about 2000 votes it said were erroneously not added to the party's votes in the Orhionmon/ Uhumode federal constituency during the collation of the election results on 25 February. 

Ogbaloi while pointing out that he's aware that INEC is making move to correct the mistake said, "We want to use this medium also to tell INEC we had a problem in the last election where the votes counted for Labour Party in Orhionmon/Uhumode federal constituency was short changed with about 2000 votes. This was a clear mistake on the part of INEC.

"Am aware that INEC is making move to correct that anomaly and therefore, we urge them to correct that. It's a matter of right not privilege, because that was clearly won by Labour party and as the rerun is going on in Orhionmon and Uhumode, they should try to correct it".