Ekiti LG Poll Lacks Legitimacy — TMG

From GBOYEGA LAWAL, Ibadan

The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) Monday declared that the recently held local government election in Ekiti State lacked legitimacy and fairness.
The TMG in a statement signed by its National Chairman and Publicity Secretary, Comrade Moshood Erubami and Comrade Musa  Rafsanjani respectively which was made available to National Mirror noted that the election, however did not witness the  much orchestrated violence.
According to the group, a coalition of over 360 pro-democracy organizations established in 1998, with the aim of monitoring  elections in Nigeria and around the world,  the poll  was relatively peaceful, except in some few local council areas where  disagreements were raised against noticeable malpractices, particularly Ode Ward II, necessitating the cancellation of the  election in that ward.
The statement which was a preliminary report of the TMG on the poll maintained: “The much publicized tension in Ekiti  conducts of local government election faded out as the election was handled calmly even though the election did not pass the  test of fairness, freeness and legitimacy.
"The withdrawal of the lead opposition party, Action Congress (AC), assisted the PDP to engage itself to win the sixteen local governments. The number of votes secured by winning candidates however could not confer legitimacy."
The TMG which declared that the election could be said to be one without choice added that security "was very tight in all  the polling units monitored by our observers but the decision by majority of independent voters to stay at home and the calmness of the voting in majority of the local governments monitored undermined the necessity of the very tight security."
The group also observed that at most of the polling units, commencement of voting was delayed due to late arrival of materials, adding however  that the  "materials submitted were  adequate for the number of people our observers saw on queue."
"The voting proper was peaceful in the local government councils monitored but complaints from opposition parties showed that  the post-election period will witness serious litigations as oppositions have vowed to contest the legality of the  election in the election petition tribunal”, the group submitted.