INEC Declares Osun Governorship Election Inconclusive The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the Osun State governorship election inconclusive. The reason for the decision, according to the electoral body, is because the number of cancelled votes is higher than the margin between the two top candidates. Peoples Democratic Party candidate Ademola Adeleke led the race with 254,698 votes, 353 votes more than his closest rival, Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress. The margin was, however, less than the 3,498 votes in the polling units where voting was cancelled. Consequently, the Returning Officer for the election, Professor Joseph Afuape, declared the poll inconclusive. “Unfortunately, as the Returning Officer, it is not possible to declare any party as the clear winner of this election at the first ballot,” “The Independent National Electoral Commission will announce a date when another ballot will take place. I hereby declare the result inconclusive.” A total of 48 candidates contested in Saturday’s governorship election, which is considered a crucial test for INEC as it is the last major poll before the 2019 general elections. With the exception of the Social Democratic Party candidate Senator Iyiola Omisore, who secured 128,049 votes, no other candidate came close to the top two. Early start As early as 7 am on election day, residents had converged on polling units with accreditation and voting starting early. As the day progressed, apart from concerns around vote buying, residents and observers who spoke to our correspondents hailed the atmosphere in which the poll took place. They also commended the voters, INEC and security operatives for how they played their roles. However, after the collation of results at the INEC headquarters in Osogbo, as electoral officials reviewed the collated result, there was a bit of tension as eager voters became impatient. The close race between Oyetola and Adeleke which became evident after the first few results were announced, heightened the anticipation. Around 1 pm, the Director of Media and Publicity for the Adeleke campaign issued a statement, alleging that there was a plot to declare the election inconclusive. The campaign. The campaign called on INEC “to align with Osun people”. After the results, were collated, however, Afuape stressed the importance of following the election guidelines. “You will recall that early this morning, we presented reasons why a candidate could not be returned. According to the election guidelines, where the margin of win between two leading candidates is not in excess of the total number of registered voters of the polling units where the election was cancelled, a party’s candidate may not be returned. “From the analysis of the result that we have, the difference between the two leading parties is just 353. And the number of voters in units where elections were cancelled is 3,498,” Afuape said before declaring the election inconclusive. Meanwhile, here is how some of the major parties fared at the poll: BOLUWADURO LGA: ADC – 69 ADP – 858 APC – 3,843 PDP – 3,779 SDP – 1,766 ATAKUMOSA WEST LGA: ADC – 106 ADP – 718 APC – 5,019 PDP – 5,401 SDP – 1,570 IFEDAYO LGA: ADC – 52 ADP – 176 APC – 3,182 PDP – 3,374 SDP – 1,377 Ede South LGA: ADC: 83 ADP: 357 APC: 4,512 PDP: 16,693 SDP: 855 OROLU LGA: ADC – 79 ADP – 388 APC – 5,442 PDP – 7,776 SDP – 2,043 OBOKUN LGA: ADC – 106 ADP – 663 APC – 7,229 PDP – 10,859 SDP – 1,907 ILESA EAST LGA: ADC – 188 ADP – 1,275 APC – 9,790 PDP – 8,244 SDP – 3,720 BORIPE LGA: ADC – 137 ADP – 1,137 APC – 11,655 PDP – 6,892 SDP – 2,730 ILESA WEST LGA: ADC – 127 ADP – 2,363 APC – 7,251 PDP – 8,286 SDP – 2,408 ORIADE LGA: ADC – 109 ADP – 1,224 APC – 9,778 PDP – 10,109 SDP – 2,265 IREPODUN LGA: ADC – 158 ADP – 2,564 APC – 6,517 PDP – 8,058 SDP – 4,856 ILA LGA: ADC – 96 ADP – 183 APC – 8,403 PDP – 8,241 SDP – 3,134 ISOKAN LGA: ADC – 56 ADP – 682 APC – 7,297 PDP – 9,084 SDP – 3,460 AIYEDADE LGA: ADC – 145 ADP – 1,654 APC – 10,861 PDP – 9,836 SDP – 2,767 ATAKUMOSA EAST LGA: ADC – 60 ADP – 629 APC – 7,073 PDP – 5,218 SDP – 2,140 ODO OTIN LGA: ADC – 1,034 ADP – 1,112 APC – 9,996 PDP – 9,879 SDP – 2,441 EDE NORTH LGA: ADC – 89 ADP – 758 APC – 7,025 PDP – 18,745 SDP – 1,380 IFELODUN LGA: ADC – 236 ADP – 2,844 APC – 9,882 PDP – 12,269 SDP – 1,920 AIYEDIRE LGA: ADC – 144 ADP – 1,642 APC – 5,474 PDP – 5,133 SDP – 2,396 IFE NORTH LGA: ADC – 94 ADP – 745 APC – 6,527 PDP – 5,486 SDP – 5,158 EJIGBO LGA: ADC – 258 ADP – 592 APC – 14,779 PDP – 11,116 SDP – 4,803 EGBEDORE LGA: ADC – 119 ADP – 650 APC – 7,354 PDP – 7,231 SDP – 3,367 IFE CENTRAL LGA: ADC – 194 ADP – 1,053 APC – 6,957 PDP – 3,200 SDP – 20,494 IREWOLE LGA: ADC – 249 ADP – 1,950 APC – 10,049 PDP – 13,848 SDP – 1,142 OLORUNDA LGA: ADC – 335 ADP – 1,409 APC – 16,254 PDP – 9,850 SDP – 7,061 OLA OLUWA LGA: ADC – 1,408 ADP – 2,194 APC – 5,025 PDP – 4,026 SDP – 2,104 IFE South LGA: ADC – 136 ADP – 561 APC – 7,223 PDP – 4,872 SDP – 6,151 IFE EAST LGA: ADC – 237 ADP – 509 APC – 8,925 PDP – 6,608 SDP – 17,643 IWO LGA: ADC – 1,164 ADP – 16,425 APC – 7,644 PDP – 6,122 SDP – 4,153 OSOGBO LGA: ADC – 413 ADP – 2,478 APC – 23,379 PDP – 14,499 SDP – 10,188 SOURCE: CHANNELSTV