...Alleges widespread electoral violence, intimidation of voters
The National Vice Chairman (South East) of the People’s Redemption Party, PRP, Peter Okafor, has described last Saturday's Enugu North Senatorial District by-election as a charade and a rape of democracy.
Okafor said this in Nsukka at the weekend while addressing Journalists after observing the Saturday by-election in the Enugu North senatorial district.
He said that PRP is calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to cancel the election because of what he described as "widespread electoral violence and intimidation of voters."
“I am surprised that in an ordinary Senatorial by-election, there was a lot of thuggery, electoral violence, snatching of ballot boxes and electoral materials.
"Our supporters were shot at and severed with an axe. In some polling units, there were no INEC officials and security agencies.
"So, we are calling on the INEC to cancel the election, or declare our candidate, Ugwuanyi Charles, the winner,” he said.
Also, the Director General of PRP’s candidate, Campaign Organization, Juliet Ugwuja, called on INEC to cancel the election due to widespread electoral violence observed during the election.
Ugwuja, who said she observed the election in all six local government areas of the District, stated that PRP party agents were chased out of some polling units during the election.
She added that his party will challenge the election result in court if their candidate is not declared the winner.
Our reporter gathered that a voter, Sunday Ofoma, was shot, while Sunday Ugwuja’s head was equally severed with axe at Obukpa in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State while they were trying to exercise their franchise. The two were said to be supporters of PRP and are currently in admission in a hospital in Nsukka.
Meanwhile, INEC had on Sunday declared Ikeje Asogwa of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the by-election with a total of 162,360 votes, while Ugwuanyi Charles of PRP polled 667 votes.
No comments