Politics
PDP candidate to challenge Cross River’s governorship election results in court
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in Cross River, Senator Sandy Onor, has rejected the outcome of the March 18 governorship election in the state.
In a statement issued on Sunday in Calabar, Onor lamented that the election fell short of the expectations of the people of the state.
He insisted that the election was marred by irregularities.
The PDP candidate said he took the decision to challenge the outcome of the election in court after consultations with relevant stakeholders in the party.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Monday declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Bassey Otu, as the winner of the election after he polled 258,619 votes to defeat the PDP candidate who got 179,636 votes.
Onor said: “The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was neither independent nor impartial. INEC officials aided by security personnel manipulated the system, altered results at various collation levels, and frustrated the will of the majority of Cross Riverians.
READ ALSO: APC’s Bassey Otu wins Cross River guber election
“Indeed, the election of Saturday 18th March 2023 was characterized by outright vote-buying, intimidation of voters, and violence, which regrettably led to the loss of lives.
“We express our heartfelt sympathies to the families of these heroes of democracy. We assure you that the perpetrators of this crime shall be brought to justice, if not by man, but by God.
“We have consulted with our legal and technical teams as well as stakeholders to review the entire electoral process and have come to the inescapable conclusion that we must seek legal redress.
“This is tailored to meet the yearnings and aspirations of a vast majority of Cross Riverians. We are confident that we will get justice.”
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