Osun Rerun: ‘We Reject this Violent And Sham Operation Called Supplementary Poll’ – Adeleke
The Oasis Reporters
September 27, 2018
Just as reports were filtering into our office that journalists covering the Osun rerun were being chased away by the police, a press release was equally received from the Ademola Adeleke Campaign Organisation rejecting the conduct of the rerun polls ongoing in some polling units.
The senior correspondents at AIT and other TV stations deployed to cover the guber rerun elections going on in osun called into their various studios to state that they have all been chased away from the polling units by the police despite presenting their accreditation tags, vests, caps etc. They stated that they were told by the police that they have no business at the polling units and that they should go wait at the collation centres despite having about 400 to 500 uniformed security personnel, ranging from the police to the NSCDC to the army.
Observers have been wondering if this is the same democracy that President Jonathan handed over to the All Progressive Congress, APC after losing the 2015 general elections.
In a release issued by Ademola Adeleke Campaign Organisation, they “report to the whole world, the brazen theft and daylight swindle of Osun people who were criminally denied their rights to vote and be voted for by an anti-people conspiracy among the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, security agencies and the ruling All Progressive Congress. An unprecedented travesty of justice and the shattering of democratic values are ongoing in Osun state.
The whole world is witnessing a charade in the name of an election, a deliberate effort at the imposition of a discredited leadership on the suffering people of Osun state through undisguised brutal force. Applying all standards, today’s supplementary poll is a non-event as all norms of electoral process are violated.
Voters are deliberately denied access to polling points at gunpoint.Those allowed to voting centers are forced to vote for the APC.
PDP party agents are arrested, beaten up and shut out of polling centres. PDP agents are barred from many units. Roads are blocked to stop voters and observers.
Journalists and election monitors are blocked from accessing many voting areas. Those who attempted to gain access are attacked by hooded thugs. PDP leaders are hounded and arrested. It was a brutal unleashing of force against unarmed election stakeholders.
We report to the whole world that in Osun today, no supplementary poll took place. It was all violence and and undisguised breaching of all electoral rules. The APC is pushing violently to steal people’s mandate freely given by the oppressed people of Osun state.
We condemn this charade; We reject this violent operations called election. We dissociate ourselves from this brazen shame and sham election.
We stand on the mandate freely given to Ademola Adeleke. We will uphold the people’s mandate through all legal means. We will not succumb to fascist agents hell bent on plunging the state into chaos.
We call on the international community to monitor happenings in Osun state. A major political tragedy is underway with huge consequence for the nation”.
Signed
Ademola Adeleke Campaign Organisation
