The governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Mr Dare Bejide, has rejected the outcome of the Ekiti State governorship election, describing the process as lacking credibility.
Speaking in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, Bejide alleged that the election was conducted under conditions he likened to a conflict environment, insisting that the exercise failed to meet acceptable democratic standards.
According to him, the ruling party resorted to vote buying through the distribution of cash and food items to voters. He argued that a government confident in its performance should not have to influence voters through inducements.
“My immediate reaction is to reject the result in its entirety because the exercise was not credible,” he said.
Bejide further claimed that several polling units, including the one where he voted, experienced a tense atmosphere throughout the election.
“You all witnessed what happened. Some places were almost like a war zone,” Bejide added.
The ADC candidate also accused political appointees and a serving senator of deploying thugs alongside security personnel to intimidate voters during the exercise.
“In some places, it appeared the election was taking place only in my polling unit. It is a sad day for democracy,” the ADC candidate stated.
He further alleged that vote buying occurred openly across a number of polling centres, claiming that large amounts of money were distributed to sway voters.
“Bags of money were brought to polling units, and enormous sums were spent,” he claimed.
Bejide maintained that such actions reflected negatively on the government’s performance record.
“If they had performed well, there would have been no need to rely on money,” Bejide said.
The ADC flagbearer noted that he was yet to make a final decision on his next course of action, explaining that he was still reviewing reports and available election results.
“I have not personally seen the full results; I have only heard reports on social media,” he said.
He disclosed that members of his team were collating results from polling units across the state for further analysis.
“Once we receive and analyse everything, we will brief our party members,” Bejide stated.
The candidate said the party would determine its next steps after completing its assessment of the election outcome.
“At this stage, we are certainly not satisfied with the conduct of the election,” he said.
Bejide also appealed to his supporters and residents of Ekiti State to remain calm and maintain peace while the party concludes its review of the election process.
“We are carefully studying the results and will know the appropriate steps to take,” he added.
