Victory For PDP…INEC Finally Declares Alagbaso Winner Of Imo Reps Election

It is victory for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has reversed its earlier decision to conduct fresh elections for the Orlu-Orsu-Oru East House of Representatives seat. INEC has consequently declared PDP candidate, Jerry Alagbaso, as winner of the election.

INEC Returning Officer, Professor Innocent Madufor, who had earlier declared the election conducted in the constituency on February 23 as inconclusive, however gave the votes recorded by Alagbaso as 21,273.

Madufor submitted that PDP candidate defeated Edwin Iheanacho of the All Progressives Congress (APC) who scored 20, 061 votes in the election.

Announcing INEC’s reversal, the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Francis Ezeonu, explained that the electoral body has resolved the issues that made it declare the elections as inconclusive. The election had been declared inconclusive due to non-utilization of Card Reads in some areas in the constituency.

Ezeonu said INEC decided to follow its guideline which stipulates that areas where Card Readers were not deployed should be returned as nil.

“we won’t go back to conduct fresh elections in those areas where Card Readers were not deployed because it is stipulated in the INEC guideline that in those areas where Card Readers were not deployed either as a result of violence or compromise, the result should be returned as zero,” said the INEC REC.

The electoral body had similarly declared some House of Representatives and Senatorial elections inconclusive for various reasons.

In House election for Ojo Federal Constituency, Lagos State, INEC declared the election inconclusive over allegations and counter allegations of irregularities by agents of different political parties.

The Imo North senatorial election was reportedly declared inconclusive over allegations of snatching of ballot boxes, kidnapping of electoral officers and manipulation of the process.

The Okigwe North Senatorial election in Imo was also declared inconclusive after results from Obowo, Ehime-Mbano and Ihitte-Uboma LGAs were not received by INEC three days after the election was conducted.