The controversy trailing the outcome of the just concluded Osun governorship rerun elections which produced Gboyega Oyetola as the governor-elect continued over weekend as the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States missions have expressed concerns over “widespread incidents of interference and intimidation of voters, journalists, and civil society” during the exercise.
The observations are coming just as Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was trending on social media over a blunder he made during a press conference on Friday.
Oshiomhole made the gaffe while commenting on the Osun governorship rerun election.
“I think that for democracy to flourish, only people who can accept the pain of rigging, sorry, defeat should participate in an election,” the former Edo governor said.
However, the missions, in a joint statement issued in Abuja stressed the need for neutrality of the security services and responsible conduct by party agents during future elections, particularly in 2019.
The polls, won by the ruling APC was marred by widespread violence, intimidation and irregularities.
The statement reads: “Delegations from the Missions of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States observed the voting in the Osun State re-run election on September 27.
“We once again commend the vast majority of the voters in the state for exercising their democratic rights peacefully.
“In contrast to our overall findings on the vote of September 22, we were concerned to witness widespread incidents of interference and intimidation of voters, journalists, and civil society observers by some political party supporters and security agencies.
“Many of our findings mirror those of leading civil society groups that observed the election.
“We commend the work of INEC leadership during both elections. But it is clear that the neutrality of the security services and responsible conduct by party agents, both inside and outside polling units, will be essential to ensure free, fair, credible and peaceful elections in 2019.
“We continue to call for calm from all stakeholders and urge that any challenges to the election result be made through peaceful and lawful means.
The post 2019 Polls: Foreign Missions Express Concerns On Security appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.
Source: Daily Independent
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Title :
2019 Polls: Foreign Missions Express Concerns On Security
Description : The controversy trailing the outcome of the just concluded Osun governorship rerun elections which produced Gboyega Oyetola as the governor...
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