Omisore, Adelakun Win Osun Rerun Elections – Thisday
December 25, 2009 by tim
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday declared Chief Iyiola Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of Wednesday’s Osun East Senatorial rerun election in Osun State. Also, the INEC declared Adeoye Adelakun of the PDP winner in the Osogbo Constituency of the Osun State House of Assembly election. In the rerun election, Omisore polled 233,210 votes, his Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) counterpart polled 743 votes, Action Congress (AC) polled 5,026 votes and United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP) candidate polled 676 votes, while 6,604 votes were nullified.
The total number of registered voters in the constituency is 476,143. In the Osogbo constituency state House of Assembly election, Adelakun polled 21,824, AC, 583 votes, All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) 40 votes, Democratic Peoples Party (DPP) 15 votes, New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) 33 votes, PPA 741, while 1,144 ballots were nullified.
The AC in the state had boycotted the rerun elections. The party in a statement by its state Secretary, Prince ‘Gboyega Famodun, said the decision was borne out of “our firm conviction that INEC is acting in an illegal and irresponsible manner and it is clear that INEC is acting the script of the Peoples Democratic Party by holding a charade in the name of rerun elections in Osun State but with a clear mandate to do the biddings of the Peoples Democratic Party at all cost.
According to the AC, “the purported rerun elections were scheduled by INEC in clear disregard of the pending litigations instituted by our great party for judicial resolutions of germane issues relevant on the competence of INEC as presently constituted as well as failure by INEC to supply and make available current voters register to be used for the rerun elections.” The Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, had October 29, 2009, nullified the election of Omisore, as Senator representing Osun East Senatorial District and ordered a rerun in the 10 local governments of the senatorial district within 60 days.
The local government are Atakumosa-West, Atakumosa East, Ilesa-East, Ilesa-West, Obokun, Oriade, Ife-South, Ife-East, Ife-Central, and Ife-North. The lower Election Petitions Tribunal which sat in the state had dismissed the petition of the AC candidate, Mr. Babajide Omoworare, and upheld the declaration of the INEC that returned Omisore as the lawful winner of the election. The AC candidate, dissatisfied with the tribunal’s verdict had filed an appeal at the higher court through his counsel, Folasade Aofolaju, alleging that Omisore was not duly elected as Senator.
Omoworare’s prayer was for the court to void Omisore’s election because he was not qualified at the time of the election having been impeached as the state deputy governor by the House of Assembly on December 13, 2002. Based on these allegations, he argued that he ought not to have been returned by the electoral body having failed to satisfy the requirements stipulated by the constitution. He went further that the election was vitiated by substantial non-compliance having been marred by violence, thuggery and intimidation; the electoral body erred by declaring him winner of the election.
In the verdict by the three-man panel of the Appeal Court led by Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, the court held that the lower tribunal erred by upholding Omisore’s election having admitted that the election was marred by violence, thuggery and non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2006 in Ife Central, South and East. The three justices – Clara Ogunbiyi, Sidi Bage and Modupe Fasanmi – resolved the issue of non-qualification in favour of the 1st and 2nd respondents saying, only the court of law had the power to pronounce him guilty and not a Code of Conduct or a panel.
And that since no court of law pronounced him guilty of the offence, it could not be held against him. Concerning the issue of non-compliance, the court held that the lower tribunal erred in its conclusion. Justice Ogunbiyi said: “With the findings of the tribunal, it established that there were thuggery, violence and absence of signatures of officials; one wonders what could be a serious proof. They erred in their majority conclusion.”
