Melaye Accuses INEC of Collating ‘Magic Results’

Melaye Accuses INEC of Collating ‘Magic Results’

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the Kogi West Senatorial election,  Senator Dino Melaye, has rejected the outcome of the poll, saying what was being collated and released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are magic results.

He also decried the wantom killings that characterised the exercise and the governorship election in the state.

The PDP senatorial candidate in his reaction to the volatile election, accused the ruling APC of manipulating the senatorial poll results on Saturday afternoon all through  midnight.

According to him, the manipulations were made possible through the machinery of the APC in the state with the support of Governor Yahaya Bello by unleashing “unprecedented violence” on voters and electoral officials.

He pointed out that over 70,000 valid votes were cancelled, saying it is left to be seen how INEC will announce a winner in the circumstance where the cancelled votes are more than the difference between the purported winner of the election and the runner-up.

“They did this by attacking my strongholds and then rig in their strongholds. That is exactly what happened. They also went to Abaji where I am very strong politically – election did not take place there. There was sporadic firing of gunshots.

“They went to Lokoja and carted away ballot boxes in over 10 polling units. They went to another place and carted ballot boxes from over 12 units. But I am surprised that, INEC despite this violence – three people were shot and two died, four people were killed in Lokoja; seven were killed in the eastern part of the state, never did anything. This is the record we have so far, apart from those who sustained gunshot wounds and those who were macheted and all that,” he added.

Melaye expressed surprise that despite the level of violence and the alleged reported abduction of INEC staff, youth corps members, INEC was collating fictitious results, which he said would not be accepted as it did not reflect the realities of the situation.

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