EU report: Opposition demands INEC chairman’s prosecution, APC fumes

The opposition parties on Thursday demanded the resignation of the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Mahmood Yakubu, on the basis of the European Union Election Observer Mission report which gave INEC low marks in its conduct of the general elections.

The Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party said the EU report on the election confirmed their positions that the 2023 polls were not transparent or credible, but the INEC and the All Progressives Congress dismissed Yakubu’s indictment by the parties.

The electoral agency had declared the APC standard bearer, Bola Tinubu, the winner of the presidential election but the verdict was challenged by the LP, PDP and other opposition parties.

Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat the PDP standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, and his LP counterpart, Peter Obi, who garnered 6,984,520 votes and 6,101,533 votes, respectively.

Atiku and Obi, however, rejected the results, with each claiming at separate press conferences that the election was fraught with violence and massive rigging.

Consequently, both candidates headed for the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal to seek redress.

Chief Observer, Barry Andrews, Member of the European Parliament, who presented the preliminary findings of the EU EOM report in Abuja on June 28, observed that shortcomings in law and electoral administration hindered the conduct of well-run and inclusive elections and damaged trust in INEC.

Source: punch