By Eteteonline
The National Electoral Commission (NEC) started compiling the results nationwide after the election on Saturday, June 12. Then on Sunday, June 13, collated results started coming in from states. On Monday, June 14, in Abuja, the Commission certified and released the results of the 14 states and Abuja, which put Chief MKO Abiola, the candidate of the Social Democratic Party, well ahead.
NRC disagreed with the election outcomes
The NRC demanded that the election be canceled after the results of the 14 states and Abuja were revealed. Its press secretary signed the statement, which said this. This stance ran counter to the two parties’ prior agreement to recognize the election outcome as the will of the people. The NRC attacked the NEC hard for releasing results in a “piecemeal” manner, referring to Abuja and the first 14 states. According to the statement released by the NRC, “This is a deliberate action calculated to mislead and incite the general public. Already, different versions of what is purported to be the result of the presidential elections are being circulated all over the federation with the aim of causing chaos and anarchy.”
There was more to the NRC’s objection than that. In a petition to NEC, the campaign group for its presidential candidate called for Bashorun MKO Abiola to be disqualified for violating Decree 13 of 1993, or else the election should be canceled, and new polls should be held.
NRC supporters cited Chief Abiola’s attire at the polling station where he cast his ballot on election day. “Contravention of Decree 13 by SDP presidential candidate Bashorun MKO Abiola” was the caption for the protest letter. According to the objection letter, Chief Abiola had broken section 49, (2)(e) of the Presidential Election (Basic Constitutional and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 13 of 1993 by donning the traditional attire that featured the SDP’s colors and insignia. According to the aforementioned rule, offences on the day of polling shall include “wearing, exhibiting or tendering any notice, sign, token, symbol, slogan, badge, photograph or party card, other than the voting card referring to the election.”
The court injunction that attempted to stop the poll a few hours before it was scheduled to take place was also criticized in the NRC statement. “Majority of the NRC supporters, for example, were disenfranchised, particularly in the rural areas of the North and the riverine areas of the country as a result of this inadequate and poor communication,” the report stated, citing the depressing and undemocratic impact of the injunction on the nation’s overall voter turnout.
It’s possible that the NRC had not yet voiced its most vocal objection to the way the election was conducted. As its statement made clear, it did not think twice about doing so. It stated:
“Information reaching. us revealed that the elections in most parts of the country were massively rigged and voters intimidated, thus leading to total falsification of results emanating from most states.
“Monetary inducements were overtly and widely used throughout the country by the SDP and its supporters to lure voters into voting for the SDP presidential candidate.”
The NRC stated that it was extremely unhappy with the outcome of the presidential election. The statement closed by outlining what it wanted NEC to do over the allegations:
“The National Republican Convention wishes to formally make it known its total dissatisfaction with the conduct of the presidential elections, and therefore calls on all Nigerians to reject the result of the elections in its entirety as it is not a full reflection of the will and wishes of the electorate. We are also calling on the National Electoral Commission to cancel the results of the presidential elections and order fresh elections throughout the country as soon as possible.”
According to reports, copies of the protest letter were forwarded to the Federation’s attorney general, chief justice, and president. The letter’s wording states, “Going by the evidences so far adduced, the SDP presidential candidate, Bashorun Abiola stands disqualified in the presidential race, and I therefore urge the National electoral Commission to effect the electoral penalties on Bashorun Abiola immediately.”
It was more than just writing petitions as NRC supporters marched to the streets in several states. Minna, the capital of Niger State and a stronghold for the NRC, came to life when NRC supporters peacefully protested the election. Alleging fraud, manipulation, and bribery during the election, the demonstrators demanded that the results be canceled as they traveled through Minna in a convoy of cars led by the party’s state chairman.
All resentful parties were instructed, meanwhile, to direct their grievances to the appropriate authorities; this was presumably a reference to the Election Tribunal, which was established to consider and rule on petitions resulting from the election.
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