Adedokun Waliyu 
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the July 16 Osun governorship election will be conclusive at the first ballot.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured the July 16 Osun governorship election will be conclusive at the first ballot.
To achieve this, the Commission said it is deploying five National Commissioners and 12 Resident Electoral Commissioners to supervise the election.
The Inspector General of Police Baba Akali also disclosed that 21,000 operatives will be drafted for the election to protect the process.
The 2018 governorship election was declared inconclusive by the Returning Officer, Joseph Fuwape, after the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ademola Adeleke, scored 254,698 votes, while Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) polled 254,345 votes.
While declaring the election inconclusive, Fuwape explained the total registered voters in the five polling units where elections were cancelled was 3,498 votes, and higher than the difference between the votes of the leading candidates.
Oyetola was eventually declared winner, after the rerun election.
INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, gave the assurance at a stakeholders’ meeting in Oshogbo, the state capital.
Yakubu also reassured political parties that it will remain neutral, adding that the electorate will determine who wins the election.
According to him the Commission has learnt lessons from the identified issues in the conduct of the 2018 governorship election in the State.
He said: “with every election, we learn lessons and every subsequent election there is improvement on the previous election. Yes we agree that there were issues in the Osun governorship election in 2018, but we have learnt lessons from that election and that’s why this time around we are deploying five National Commissioners and 12 RECs to support the process being handled by our state office so I have learnt lessons and you’re going to see much improved process in 2022.
“For us in INEC, let me reassure political parties, candidates and the electorate that the choice of who becomes the next Governor of Osun State is entirely in the hands of voters. As I have repeatedly said in previous engagements with stakeholders, INEC will not take any action to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate. Our focus is on the processes and procedures as provided by law.
