Mr Dare Bejide, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) governorship candidate in Ekiti, has described the just-concluded gubernatorial election in the state as a bad day, saying democracy has departed the state, News.ng reports.
Bejide, who appeared on Channels Television on Sunday evening, claimed the exercise, particularly in his polling unit, was turned into a market where votes were being exchanged for money.
According to him, security agents abandoned their duties, and rigging was the order of the day.
He said, “Well, the election was a very bad one. Yesterday was a very bad day for democracy in Aikido State. It was a day when democracy took a flight from Aikido State.
“It was a day when the polling, particularly my polling boots, became a political marketplace where votes were canvassed for, sold, and bought by politicians. It was a day the security agents abandoned their duties, and they took sides with the oppressor. It was a day that the hungry people went and took money from the oppressors in exchange for their rights.”
Bejide, who came third in the election, noted that, following what he witnessed on Saturday, political parties should forget about campaigning and focus on election day, offering voters money in exchange for their votes.
He criticized the ruling party for weaponizing poverty while making it easy to buy votes on election day.
“Generally, it was a very bad day. My polling booth, where I voted, was massive rigging, massive sale of votes, and it happened everywhere in the states. It merely shows that you don’t need to campaign again.
“All you need to do is to keep your money for the election day and buy votes, and the government of the day has weaponized poverty, and that makes it so easy for them to buy votes,” he stated.
This news platform earlier reported that Biodun Oyebanji was declared the winner of the election after polling 319,224 votes.
The candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Oluwole Oluyede, garnered 40,543 votes, while Bejide polled 12,872 votes.
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