Observers from the African Centre for Leadership, Strategies and Development have said last Saturday’s governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers State were bloody and fraudulent.
They noted that the results were cooked and, therefore, unacceptable.
The observers urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel the polls.
They also said they were disappointed about the conduct and attitude of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Dame Gesila Khan, especially for declaring the results from areas where elections did not hold.
The leader of the independent observers, Humphrey Bekaren, who was accompanied by Yaniv Dabah, addressed reporters yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital.
They said: “We are shocked and extremely disappointed that INEC’s REC, Mrs. Gesila Khan, disregarded the widely-reported violent irregularities to begin the process of declaring results.
“We request all lovers of democracy to join us in calling for the outright cancellation of the phony elections. Unless this is done, we would have sown the seed of destruction that could eventually grow into providing a shade of fear and death over us. We have done our part. We hope and believe that those who are constitutionally empowered to set things straight will listen and do the right thing.”
The observers described themselves as leaders of civil society groups and advocacy organisations, who were shock by the malpractices that took place during the April 11 elections in Rivers State.
They stressed that what happened in the state on Saturday was a far cry from what elections should be.
The observers added: “What we saw did not meet the accepted international standard of electioneering, not even the ones set by INEC. There were reported events of deliberate delays and diversion of electoral materials, attacks on electoral officers, widespread arson, snatching of electoral materials, killings, voter intimidation, with active connivance with security agencies.
“In many polling stations visited around Port Harcourt up to 11:30am, there were no signs of electoral personnel or materials from INEC. For places close to the INEC office in the city, where the materials were stored, we wonder whether the delays were as a result of incompetence or premeditated sabotage.
“More disturbing was the organised disruption of the process by hoodlums, who had a free reign, despite the presence of security personnel. In many areas of the state, people who had no business at the polling units, hijacked the process, chased away voters, took possession of materials and engaged in mind-boggling irregularities, presided over by some politicians. The mayhem unleashed on the state led to the reported death of several persons by the last count.”
The team also “strongly and totally” condemned the abhorrent scale of violence and mindless bloodletting that fits into crimes that shock human conscience and fall into the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“We observed also noted several cases of over-voting, where political parties that were not on the original ballot papers printed by INEC had scores on the results sheets, presiding officers were not willing to follow INEC directives that card readers must be used. Rather, they proceeded with manual accreditation, against the rules set by INEC.
“Card-carrying members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were allowed to bring in results of their Local Government Areas into INEC office (in Port Harcourt). For instance the Sports Minister Tammy Danagogo (an indigene of Abonnema-Kalabari, the headquarters of Akuku-Toru LGA of Rivers State), brought in the results of Akuku-Toru LGA about 0.55hrs on the 12th of April. The Nigerian Ambassador to South Korea (Desmond Akawor) brought in the results of Oyigbo LGA to INEC office at about 3.30 am.”
The observers insisted that the Chairman of INEC, Prof. Attahiru Jega, who was described as a man of integrity and character, should not allow the “manufactured” results of the April 11 elections in Rivers State to stand, to ensure credibility of the electoral process, thereby writing his name in gold.
