Ondo poll: Resort to legal channels in case of disagreement in results, group tells candidates

Candidates and political actors in the just concluded Ondo State governorship election have been called upon to resort to legal channels in case of contestation and disagreement in results to sustain social peace and avoid of breakdown of Law and Order in the state.

Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Sunday, declared Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the winner having scored 366,781 votes to defeat his challenger and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Agboola Ajayi, who scored 117,845 votes.

Oscar David, who spoke on behalf of the International Police Chaplain Sustainable Development and Law Enforcement, at a press conference on Monday in Akure said the mission team observed further improvements in the mobilization and participation of the security apparatus in the Ondo election, unlike the Edo election wherein the military was over mobilized and seen in almost every nooks and cranny.

According to him, the Ondo scenario was largely the Police and Civil Defense Corps that were seen at Polling Units and streets, with the Army generally restricted to border areas and flashpoints.

David said; “the security conducted itself professionally and did not interfere in the processes. IPCSL commends the performance of the security agencies in this election.

“INEC appears to be intense in training and re-training of its staff and ad-hoc workers as the Ondo election largely witnessed an improved performance in the service of electoral officials, with negligible cases of poor handling of equipment and voters on the part of the electoral officials.

“The BVAS functioned well, except in isolated cases, while accreditation, voting, counting and collation exercises were generally satisfactory and acceptable by the party agents on the ground, as only in very few polling units did we observe rancour or rejection of outcome at point of counting.

“On voting day, our mission randomly visited over 200 polling stations across the 18 Local Government Areas, and in randomly selected wards. Most polling units opened at the official time (8:30 am), some were, however, late in opening owing to transportation logistics as they informed us.

“As a key player in social cohesion, especially during the electoral period, the Organized Civil Society should pool its resources and further synergies for more effective observation of the electoral process. It should pursue civic education and citizen sensitization to strengthen inclusive participation in these major efforts of national development.

“The mission asserts, without fear of any contradictions, that the final result declared by INEC truly reflect the records of the ballot boxes at polling units. IPCSL welcomes the good collaboration between the various international missions and domestic observers. Likewise, we salute the quality of the exchanges and shared experiences in the mission to Ondo State.”