Akpata blames flawed electoral process for LP’s third-place finish

The Labour Party’s candidate in the recent Edo State Governorship election, Olumide Akpata, has attributed the party’s third-place result to a deeply flawed electoral process.

On Sunday, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress as the winner of the Edo State Governorship election.

Okpebholo secured 291,667 votes, defeating the PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, who garnered 247,274 votes, and the Labour Party candidate, who finished third with 22,763 votes.

In the election, the APC won in 10 of the state’s 18 Local Government Areas, while the PDP emerged victorious in the remaining 8.

During an appearance on Channels Television’s flagship programme, Politics Today, on Wednesday, Akpata attributed his loss to a flawed electoral system.

He said, “The outcome, as you can see, is that the Labour Party came a very distant third. However, this was due to a process that was thoroughly flawed.

“When you consider, firstly, the level of voter apathy, which was quite high, it is estimated that only about 20% of eligible voters turned out to vote in Edo State, a highly enlightened and sophisticated community,” he stated.

Expressing his concerns about the election results, Akpata remarked, “You saw what happened at the collation centres, where there was chaos at some of the local government collation centres, and at the state collation centre, it was mayhem.

“So, that just tells you it wasn’t an election that took place on the 21st. It’s fine to lose fair and square, but when you realise that the Labour Party, from the very beginning, was out of the race because we apparently came to a gunfight with a penknife. We did not have the resources to buy votes, which were clearly on offer,” he said.

Akpata added, “For me, that’s how I would describe the process: vote-buying, voter apathy, and then mayhem and chaos at the collation centres. This is how we ended up with the outcome you mentioned.

“I have enough humility to accept defeat if indeed I lost, but only if it was on a level playing field.”