By: Clinton Inene
Iyiola Omisore, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the August 9 Gubernatorial election in Osun State, has challenged the election results in court.
Omisore’s team of legal professionals on Wednesday, August 27, formally presented a petition to the election petition tribunal sitting at the premises of the State High Court in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.
Announcing the decision to challenge the election results at the tribunal, Omisore said his legal team would challenge what he termed “brazen attempt to subvert the wishes of the electorate, who came out to vote for his candidature at the recently concluded governorship poll,”
He said the election was, “marred with massive irregularities and monumental fraud, perpetrated by the All Progressives Congress, APC.”
The incumbent governor, Rauf Aregbesola won the election by polling 394,684 votes to defeat Iyiola Omisore, who had 292,747 votes. The All Progressives Congress, APC, says it will be represented at the tribunal by a team of its lawyers, including its National Legal Adviser, Muiz Banire, Kunle Adegoke, AbdulRahman Okunade and M A Okunade.
The APC is praying the tribunal panel to permit its agents, to take “certified true copies and conduct manual/physical inspection of all electoral materials to wit, including forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E, EC40A, EC40B, EC40C, EC40F, EC40G, EC25, EC25B (Electoral Material Receipt), EC1A, EC60, INEC list and codes of the polling units, wards and local government areas in Osun State.”
The party is also requesting for register of voters in Osun State, Form EC17 (oath/affirmation of neutrality), stubs of ballot papers used, used and unused ballot papers, EC25 series, all forms EC60E, rejected ballot papers, tendered ballot papers, actual ballot papers recorded as spoilt, list of the polling agents in the conduct of the August 9, 2014 in Osun State governorship election, list of all ad hoc staff engaged by the INEC, as well as all polling documents and materials used for the election in the following local government areas.
The local governments in question are Atakumosa East, Atakumosa West, Ayedaade, Ayedire, Boluwaduro, Boripe, Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore, Ejigbo, Ife Central, Ifedayo, Ife East, Ifelodun, Ife North, Ife South, Ila, Irepodun, Isokan, Iwo, Obokun, Odo-Otin and Oriade.
The party also wants the tribunal to permit handwriting and forensic expert(s) to conduct an inspection of Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, EC8E and all forms and materials used for the conduct of the governorship election in the state in the aforesaid local government areas and others as the tribunal may deem fit to make in the circumstances.
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