The National Vice Chairman (South East) of the People’s Redemption Party, PRP, Peter Okafor, has described last Saturday’s June 20 Enugu North Senatorial District by-election as a charade and a rape of democracy as well as rejected result of the election as announced by INEC.
Okafor said this in Nsukka at the weekend while addressing journalists.
He said that PRP is calling on the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to cancel the election because of what he described as “widespread electoral violence and intimidation of voters.”
“I am surprised that in an ordinary senatorial by-election, there was a lot of thuggery, electoral violence, snatching of ballot boxes and electoral materials.
“Some of our supporters were shot at while others were wounded with axe and other dangerous weapons at polling units while in many polling units there were no presence of security and INEC officials.
“So,PRP is calling on INEC to cancel the election, or declare our candidate, Ugwuanyi Charles, the winner,” he said.
Also speaking, the Director General of Dr. Charles Ugwuanyi Campaign Organization, Juliet Ugwuja, called on INEC to cancel the election due to widespread electoral violence and frauds observed during the election.
Ugwuja who said she observed the election in all six local government areas of the district, stated that PRP party agents were chased out of some polling units during the election by some political thugs.
She added that his party would challenged the election result in court if the election was not cancelled or PRP candidate declared the winner.
The DG alleged a voter, Sunday Ofoma, was shot, while Sunday Ugwuja’s head was equally severed with axe at Obukpa in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State while they were trying to exercise their franchise.
Meanwhile, INEC had on Sunday declared Ikeje Asogwa of the All Progressives Congress, APC, winner of the by-election with a total of 162,360 votes, while INEC said Ugwuanyi Charles of PRP scored 667 votes.
PRP had rejected the result announced by INEC on Sunday June 21, that declared Ikeje Asogwa of APC as the winner of the by-election .