There is uneasy calm as candidates of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday won the Brass Constituency 2 and Ogbia Constituency 2 seats in the rescheduled House of Assembly election in Bayelsa State amid sporadic shooting by armed men suspected to be hired thugs.
The rescheduled election was marred by alleged hijack of election materials and voters’ apathy due to shootings by unknown gunmen suspected to be hired thugs, who operated unmolested by hundreds of security personnel deployed in the areas.
It was gathered by our correspondent that the election in Brass Constituency 2 witnessed a large turnout of voters with APGA candidate, Hon. Alfred Watson, defeating candidates of the ruling PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC, with 849 votes.
According to the results declared at 5am yesterday by the returning officer, who is a lecturer at the state-owned Niger Delta University, Mr. Perekere Bertola, of the 2,805 accredited voters, APGA candidate scored 849; PDP candidate scored 380, while APC’s scored 476 votes.
Some supporters of APGA candidate claimed that attempts by suspected PDP supporters to allegedly collude with security personnel to hijack voting materials and declare the election inconclusive were thwarted by angry youths from the constituency.
At Ogbia Constituency 2, the turnout of voters was poor, while election materials were hijacked from voting venues by some armed men and uniformed policemen.
APC leaders in Ogbia said the House of Assembly candidate of the party, Hon Tonye Okio, was later invited at midnight by some officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to witness the counting of votes, contrary to provisions of the Electoral Act.
Contacted on the development, Hon. Okio said election into the seat of the Ogbia Constituency 2 did not hold as it was marred by intimidation, saying that “over 500 policemen held the voting venues under siege. While the soldiers stayed away from the voting venues, armed policemen led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, and a Supol suspected to have been deployed from the state” took charge.
“I learnt that they have declared the PDP candidate as the winner after counting the votes in INEC office with only INEC officials and PDP leaders present. I am waiting for the INEC to declare me winner of the election based on the vote cast and counted by the people.”
Source: National Mirror
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