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APC Rejects Results As PDP Wins 22 Out Of 25 Seats In Delta Local Government Elections

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The Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) has declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner in 22 out of the 25 local council seats contested in Saturday’s local government elections which held in the state.

The state’s electoral umpire however ordered a rerun in Ughelli North, where the DSIEC office was burnt, and Ethiope East where elections couldn’t hold due to breakout of violence.

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The rescheduled elections have been slated for Tuesday in the affected local government areas.

The results were declared on Sunday under the supervision of the Chairman of the commission, Mr. Mike Ogbodu.

However, in its reaction to the results, the All Progressives Council, (APC) in Delta state has rejected the results.

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Speaking via a statement by its chairman, Mr. Jones Erue, APC called for the total cancellation of the election results.

“The Delta State local council elections that took place on January 6, 2018, with Delta State Independent Electoral Commission (DSIEC) as the umpire, was a total sham that cannot stand the test of credible, free and fair elections as required by democratic principles.

“To let it stand would be that DSIEC has, in connivance with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), perpetuated a greedy and political dynasty that is already gasping for life.”

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“It was observed upon close examination that the result sheets did not accompany the materials in most of the LGAs.

“Where result sheets were produced, they were in sharp contrast with the samples that were presented to our party officials during the DSIEC training exercise, and so were fake.

“Many returning officers were neither at the polling units to conduct the elections, nor to announce the outcome.

“For example, a DSIEC returning officer at Ozoro in Isoko North Local Government Area was arrested at a hotel annex in Ozoro facilitating illegal thumb-printing of votes, and was handed over to the Nigeria Police at Ozoro,” he stated.

“In fact, we gathered that the DSIEC office at Ughelli was burnt down while election materials were not issued.

“We are not shocked by the outcome of the elections because we had issued a note of caution previously, warning about the potential for active connivance between DSIEC and PDP officials or agents.”

“The bastardisation of these simple elections which ought to have been peaceful shows that PDP is now a dying party in the state, and that they were totally amazed by the level of preparedness, organisation and mobilisation that APC mustered across the entire state.

“There is no doubt that PDP is now experiencing a backlash from the masses, given the overall poor performance by its council officials and the state government that oversaw the councils.

“In all of this, we are most saddened that during the elections, at least three of our members were shot at in Ughelli South LGA, and not less than a dozen others were cut with machetes and injured by PDP thugs, just as numerous vehicles were damaged.

“We wish these gallant persons a swift recovery in the weeks ahead, just as we extend our deepest appreciation to them for standing up for what was right and just.

“We stand with them in their pain and by God’s grace, timely recovery,” he said.