The Adamawa State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to declare its candidate, Umaru Fintiri, as the governor-elect instead of terming the state governorship election inconclusive because the margin of lead was lower than the number of registered voters in places where voting was cancelled.
The party said at a press briefing in Yola on Tuesday that INEC reckoned with all the registered voters in places where voting was cancelled instead of just the number of people who collected their permanent voters cards (PVCs).
The PDP got 367,472 votes while the All Progressives Congress (APC) received 334,995 votes after results were collated, but INEC declared the election inconclusive on the argument that the margin of lead which was 32,467 votes, was lower than the number of registered voters, 40,948 in 44 polling units (PUs), where elections were cancelled.
The PDP said at the press briefing through one of its chieftains and a former governor of the state, Boni Haruna, that: “We’ve been able to establish that the number of PVCs collected by voters in the 44 PUs is 31,027. So, 31,027 are the only eligible voters in those units. If there is going to be a rerun, the 31,027 people who collected their PVCs are less than PDP’s margin of win. How then would the rerun affect the leading position of the PDP? So, there was no basis in declaring the Adamawa State governorship election inconclusive.”
The party demanded that INEC rescinds its decision and declare the PDP candidate, Hon Umaru Fintiri, as the winner; but added that if INEC insisted on a rerun, it should provide the number of PVCs collected in each of the 44 PUs and the number of people accredited in the units for the March 9 governorship election.
The PDP also urged INEC to ensure that all electoral materials for the rerun are distributed in a transparent manner and the rerun proper should not be militarized and voters should be allowed to cast their votes freely.
The party said it heard that Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow was planning to ‘win the rerun at all costs,’ and warned that all attempts to rig the rerun would be resisted.
In its own reaction to the outcome of the governorship election, the APC in the state had on Monday alleged widespread irregularities.
The APC said at a press briefing: “As a party, we reject the results of the governorship election in Adamawa State in its totality and we call for the cancellation of all … places where card readers were not used, and where there was over-voting.”
