CDD observer harassed in Bayelsa as official refuses to paste result

Upon the collation of results at polling units, it is expected that the presiding officers of the unit paste the completed and signed election result sheets.

However, the presiding officer at Polling Unit 3, ward 2, Brass Local Government in Bayelsa State refused to paste the election result of the presidential and senatorial election as permitted by law.

The officer, who is a corps member and ad-hoc staffer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had collated and announced both senatorial and presidential election at exactly 4:31 p.m, but refused to paste the result sheet for the voters in the area.

An accredited election observer from the Centre for Democracy and Development then requested to see a copy of the result sheet, although the assistant presiding officer obliged him but the presiding officer insisted that INEC has directed them ”not to speak or show the result to anyone including the media.”

READ ALSO: PDP recruiting thugs to attack collation centres, APC alleges

According to the observer, the presiding officer asked the police officer in charge of the unit to seize his phone and delete all the pictures in it.

“The police officer at the unit asked me to sit down, opened my pictures, asked me to open my WhatsApp, checked all my messages, the recipients and instructed me to delete the pictures and videos,” he said.

He further added that he was asked to go to the RAC center see the results.

”I was asked to come to the RAC and check the result as it will only be posted there. Even copies of the results were not given to the party agents present,” he said.

By Precious Akpadaka

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