Rerun elections for the Saki West state seat have been mandated by the National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal in Oyo State.
The All Peoples Congress (APC) candidate Mr. Shittu Ibrahim was previously proclaimed the victor of the March 18 state assembly election by INEC.
According to the results, Julius Okedoyin, the PDP candidate, finished second with 13,422 votes, while Ibrahim received 13,692 votes to defeat him.
Okedoyin and the PDP headed to the tribunal after being unsatisfied with the decision, alleging overvoting, anomalies, and a violation of electoral regulations.
The tribunal concluded that the petition had validity and that the petitioners had proven their claims beyond a reasonable doubt in a unanimistic decision made by its chairman, Justice Jubril Anaja.
In the constituency with 1,285 voter cards gathered, Anaja ruled that the cancellation of the results from Ward 6 Unit 7 and Ward 11 Unit 19 might significantly impact the election’s outcome.
In Ward 6, the declared winner had a lead over the petitioner of 270 votes, but more than 1,000 electors were denied the right to vote, according to the tribunal.
The tribunal claimed that if the more than 1,000 affected wards voters who had their voting rights revoked by INEC had been permitted to cast ballots, the outcome might have been changed.
“The certificate of return given to the first respondent (Ibrahim) by INEC is hereby revoked awaiting the rerun election to determine the Saki West constituency winner.
According to Anaja, “INEC is thus ordered to conduct a re-run election in Ward 6, Unit 7 and Ward 11, Unit 19 within 90 days.
Sikiru Adewoye, Ibrahim’s attorney, responded by stating that his client would challenge the tribunal’s ruling.
The petitioners’ attorney, Mr. Yusuf Ogunrinde, praised the panel for its decision.
