International Observers Want Election Cancelled in Rivers State

Following speculations that elections in Rivers State was violent, with several people shot and some killed, international election observers have given their opinion.

 The Nation reports that international election observers on Sunday called for the cancellation of the Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Rivers.


Mr Humphrey Bekaren, the leader of African Centre for Leadership Strategies and Development made the call in Port Harcourt on behalf of the observers. According to him, the observers were shocked that INEC disregarded the widely reported violent irregularities to begin the process of declaring results in the state.

“We request all lovers of democracy to join us in calling for the outright cancellation of the phony election. Unless this is done, we would have sown the seed that could eventually grow into providing a shade of fear and death over us,’’ he said. Bekaren revealed that what happened in Rivers was ‘a far cry from what election should be.’

“What we saw did not meet international standard of electioneering, not even the ones set by the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC,’’ he said. He added that there were reported incidents like deliberate delays and diversion of electoral materials, attacks on electoral officers, widespread burning and voter intimidation.

 Meanwhile, the state’s Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Gesila Khan, said the electoral umpire cancelled polls in centres with reported electoral malpractices. She acknowledged that re-run elections took place in six local government areas in the state where electoral malpractices were reported.

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