EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Kaduna State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has written to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), reminding the commission of its provisions in the INEC Regulations and Guidelines for declaring election results.
The letter, which was signed by the PDP state collation agent, Danjuma Bello Sarki, was addressed to the Resident Electoral Commissioner in Kaduna State on Monday.
This follows the confusion trailing the collation of results of the governorship and state House of Assemblies election conducted on Saturday, March 18, 2023, with a winner yet to be declared 78 hours after the election was held.
The governorship election in Kaduna State was keenly contested between Senator Uba Sani of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and Isah Asiru Kudan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), among others.
The opposition PDP insisted on the observance of “the provision of Paragraph 82 of INEC Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022 and to be guided by same in the discharge of your duties as Returning Officer of the Governorship Election in Kaduna State, especially as it relates to the Declaration of the Winner of the Election.”
In the letter, the PDP claimed massive cancellation of election results conducted in many polling units of Kaduna State, particularly in Kudan Local Government where the election result in two wards of Garu and Kauran Wali North Wards were not entered in the collated Governorship election result for the Kudan Local Government Council.
The PDP cited the celebrated case of Gidado & Anor v. Mohammed & Ors (2015) LPELR – 40356 to insist on the strict observance of the guidelines before declaring Kaduna election results.
The letter further cited: “Where the margin of win between the two leading candidates is not in excess of the total number of the registered voters of the polling unit(s) where the election was cancelled or not held, such election shall be conducted within 14 days thereafter provided the Commission is satisfied that the result of the election will not be affected by the proposed conduct of the election.”
The PDP also requested that the INEC Commissioner should investigate and correct all anomalies in the election process, particularly in relation to the missing results from Garu and Kauran Wali North Wards in Kudan Local Government Council.
The Kaduna State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mohammed Mahmud, confirmed receiving the letter and assured the PDP that the commission would follow due process in the declaration of the winner of the election, in line with INEC regulations and guidelines.
He also promised to look into the issues raised by the PDP concerning the missing election results in Kudan Local Government Council.
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