The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced on Saturday that it had received two complaints related to the ongoing governorship election in Edo State.
The commission assured the public that it would investigate the allegations and address any proven irregularities.
INEC shared the update on its X (formerly Twitter) handle, specifically addressing a complaint regarding discrepancies in figures recorded on polling unit result sheets.
“The Commission’s attention has been drawn to an allegation of wrong figures entered into polling unit result sheets in the ongoing Edo State Governorship election. This is the second complaint we have received out of the 4,519 polling units used for the election. The Commission will immediately investigate the matter and deal with any proven infraction,” INEC stated.
This follows reports that detailed a complaint from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), calling for the arrest and prosecution of an INEC Presiding Officer, Obozuwa Josephine. The PDP accused Josephine of allegedly allocating non-existent votes to the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the election.
According to the PDP, the result sheet for the Osholo Primary School Polling Unit in Weppa, Etsako East Local Government Area, indicated that although 213 voters were accredited, Josephine allegedly “allocated 352 votes to the APC, 52 to the PDP, and one to the LP, giving a total of 406 votes cast.”
The PDP described the incident as “highly provocative” and demanded that INEC take swift action, including prosecuting members of the APC involved in what they termed an “electoral heist.”
They further claimed that the Presiding Officer had been “compromised by the APC to audaciously and feloniously allocate unearned 352 votes.”
INEC’s commitment to investigating these allegations aims to ensure the integrity of the election and address concerns about the transparency of the process.