Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has been declared winner of the Edo State governorship election conducted on Wednesday.
He defeated his main rival and candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osagie Ize-Iyamu, with 66,310 more votes.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced that Obaseki polled 319,483 votes as against Ize-Iyamu’s 253, 173 votes.
The PDP has rejected the results.
INEC’s Returning Officer, Prof. Kayode Soremekun, who declared Obaseki winner on Thursday, said he had met all conditions required to be returned as governor elect for the state.
Obaseki had claimed an early lead in the poll, but half way into the election, the tie had been evenly posed with results appearing to be likely to swing in either candidate’s direction.
With results for nine of the 18 local government areas in the state collated around 11am, Obaseki had won five LGAs and polled 142,424 votes as against Ize-Iyamu’s four LGAs and 136,808 votes.
The results for the remaining nine local governments, however, saw the APC candidates lead widen, paving way for his victory.
Youths loyal to the PDP took to the street to protest the outcome of the election.
“If you go by the results that were announced at the polling units and wards across the state, it shows the PDP would have won by over 30,000 votes,” said Dan Orbih, the party’s state chairman in a press conference.
“What INEC is announcing is clearly different from what we got from our agents and independent observers in the 192 wards and over 2,000 units across the state.”
The PDP agent at the collation centre, Chris Agbonwanegbe, also refused to sign the final result sheet.
“I cannot endorse it,” he told the INEC officials present. “You said I should get ready for court instead of looking at it here and now. I cannot be a party to that.”
