Rivers State African Action Congress, AAC, governorship candidate, Engr. Awara Biokpomabo, has reacted to the decision of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to declare the Saturday’s governorship election in the state inconclusive.
Biokpomabo rejected the suspension of the state’s results by INEC, saying the Commission has no right to halt his victory.
In a statement he signed, the AAC governorship candidate insisted that no provision of the electoral act permits the commission to suspend elections that have already been concluded.
He stressed that results already collated and declared from the polling units indicated that he was in clear lead and was coasting to victory.
According to Biokpombo: “My Party, the African Action Congress (AAC) a duly registered Political Party fielded candidates for the Governorship, House of Representatives, Senate, and House of Assembly positions for the General Elections held on the 9th day of March, 2019.
“The aforesaid elections held as scheduled and proceeded up to collation stage in some Local Government Areas, and in some other Local Government Areas, results had already been collated and declared, before the Independent National Electoral Commission suspended the remaining stages of the election, which I was in clear lead and was coasting to victory.
“Some of the unit results announced at the polling units in the Local Government were collations were not concluded clearly before the suspension of the processes show that I won over 15 Local Government Areas. The INEC pleaded insecurity, violence, seizure of electoral materials by hoodlums etc. as the reasons for suspending the remaining stages of the Election. I reject the reason given by INEC.
“This is because in the Local Government Areas that were affected, voting had concluded, results declared at the polling units and collation had begun before the abrupt suspension of the process.
“The Commission does not have the power under our Electoral Act to suspend elections that has already been concluded. My agents at the field reported to me that the results had already been declared in the under listed Local Government.”
