…as SERAP, TI, TMG, others condemn act
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it will probe wide allegations of vote buying by some political parties in the just concluded Ekiti State governorship election.
The National Commissioner in charge of Voter Education and Publicity, Prince Solomon Soyebi, revealed this to one of our correspondents in Abuja on Monday.
Soyebi, who was in charge of the Ekiti election, said the investigation would be a holistic one and the result would be made public soon after.
He said, “We will investigate the conduct and every other aspect of the election very soon and we will carry members of the public along.”
Meanwhile, some groups, including the Transparency International, the Socio-Economic Right and Accountability Project; and the Transition Monitoring Group have condemned vote-buying during Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State.
The groups, in separate statements, said vote-buying, had endangered the country’s democracy and could affect the credibility of the election.
They said this just as the Police Service Commission stated that it had received 35 complaints bordering on vote- buying, financial inducement and restiveness in some polling units during Saturday’s Ekiti governorship election.
Condemning the monetisation of the election, TI and SERAP said political parties that were not satisfied with the results must not resort to violence but seek redress at the tribunal.
Recall that candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has since been declared winner of the election held on Saturday in the state.
