Governor Godwin Obaseki, candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has scored the highest votes in Saturday’s Edo State governorship election and has been declared winner.
The result of the election, held in all Edo’s 18 local governments, was declared by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday in Benin, the state capital.
“Godwin Obaseki of the PDP, having satisfied the requirement of the law and scored the highest number of votes, is hereby declared the winner,” Johnson Alalibo, chief returning officer of INEC in the state, announced on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Obaseki polled 307,955 votes to defeat his main rival, Mr Osagie Ize-Iyamu of All Progressives Congress (APC), who had 223,619 votes. He also won in 13 of the 18 local government areas and thus scored more than 25 per cent of votes cast in two-thirds of the local governments in the state to satisfy the second constitutional requirement to be declared governor.
Obaseki won his first election in 2016 as a candidate of APC, principally supported by Mr Adams Oshiomhole, immediate past governor and former national chairman of APC. Mr Ize-Iyamu was then candidate of PDP.
But in the course of his term as the governor, Obaseki became estranged with Oshiomhole, causing an epic political battle now capped off with his victory today.
The battle contributed to the fall of Oshiomhole as chairman of APC. But Obaseki also could not get that party’s ticket and he had to switch to PDP with his deputy, Mr Phillip Shaibu.
Days ahead of the election, APC leader and former governor of Lagos, Mr Bola Tinubu, had in a recorded broadcast made an “appeal” to the Edo electorate to “reject” Mr Obaseki, whom he dismissed as having no sound democratic credential.
Tinubu and Oshiomole are close allies.
Obaseki won in 13 local government areas, including his home Oredo LGA, which is the largest. Ize-Iyamu, on the other hand, won the remaining five local governments, including his main backer Oshiomole’s Etsako West.
Ize-Iyamu lost his home LGA of Orhionmwon.
Saturday’s election was not without incidents of ballot snatching, over voting technical glitches affecting card readers, and violence reported in a few polling units by returning officers during the collation exercise.
These incidents caused the cancellation of votes in some polling units.
A total of 14 parties contested the election but PDP and APC are the main parties.
APC PDP
Esan North East 6,556 13,579
Esan Central 6,719 10,794
Igueben 5,199 7,870
Ikpoba Okha 18,218 41,030
Uhunmwonde 5,972 16,741
Egor 10,202 27,621
Owan East 19,295 14,762
Owan West 11,193 11,485
Esan South East 9,237 10,565
Etsako West 26,140 17,959
Oredo 18,365 43,498
Ovia North East 9,907 16,987
Esan West 7,189 17,434
Akoko Edo 22,963 20,101
Etsako East 17,011 10,668
Etsako Central 8,359 7,478
Orhiaonmwon 10,458 13,445
Ovia South West 10,636 12,659
PT
