Amidst Boycotts, Ondo Inaugurates LG Chairmen, Councilors, As SIEC Releases Results |The Source

By Ayodele Oni, Akure

As expected, candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state have been declared winner in all the 18 local government chairmanship and 194 councilorship out of 198 seats contested for in last Saturday’s local government election.

Seven political parties participated in the exercise, which was held amidst cases of ballot box snatching and violence.

Announcing the election results on Sunday afternoon, Chairman of Ondo Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) Prof. Yomi Dinakin said results in four wards were declared inconclusive.

According to him, there was no election in five local governments and still results were announced, saying it was in line with the electoral act.

More reactions continue to trail the conduct and outcome of the council poll as the state chapter of Zenith Labour Party, (ZLP) said it fell short of democratic norms.

The ZLP statement, signed by the publicity secretary, Mr Felix Olatunde  pointed out that “the exercise, in its conception, execution and predictable outcome, falls short of the minimum standard of democratic process and ought to be condemned by all lovers of democracy and good governance.

ZLP is one of the political parties that did not participate in the election but the party stated: “We watched from afar, the charade that was called election across the state and saw only what is at best a poorly executed and hurriedly packaged electoral heist.

“The Zenith Labour Party boycotted the scam, owing to our conviction that it was designed to arrive at the enthronement of cronies of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and nothing more.

“The myriad of malfoneasance, rigging and violence that occasioned the process show clearly that the APC, has lost touch with the electorate and reality.

“The poor turnout across the state and the desperation displayed by the APC in muzzling candidates from the few parties who jumped into fray show that the party has little or no credibility left.

“The ZLP is busy working to rally all lovers of democracy and rule of law behind our candidate in the forthcoming election and we therefore call on all and sundry to join the movement to put an end to the lack lustre era of the Akeredolu-led APC.

“We have looked at the structural composition of Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) and concluded that it was fatally compromised by the appointment of card-carrying members of APC while the recruitment of the ad-hoc staff was made an exclusive preserve of APC members too.

“APC, the outgoing party, employed thuggery and banditry during campaigns and legitimised open attacks on members of other parties.

“The most appalling of it all was the blatant denial of access to contestants from other political parties and their prospective voters to the polling centers while the voting was supposed to be ongoing.”

Apparently sensing legal action from aggrieved parties that participated in the election, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu is to swear in the elected council officials today.