The Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed that there were open buying of votes in the recently concluded Ekiti State governorship election won by the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Kayode Fayemi.
In a communiqué issued after its regular meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners (REC) from all the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), INEC said that though the exercise was free and fair, but that vote-buying marred the poll.
The communiqué which was signed by the National Commissioner and Member of the Information and Voter Education Committee, Mohammed Haruna, read in part: “The Commission reviewed the conduct of the July 14 governorship election in Ekiti State and preparations for the September 22, 2018 Osun governorship election.
“It noted the satisfactory conduct of the Ekiti governorship election as attested to by both domestic and international observers, the media and other stakeholders.
“The meeting also noted with deep concern, the rising phenomenon of vote-buying during elections and restated its commitment and determination to continue to work with all stakeholders, especially the security agencies, to stem the ugly trend.”
The Commission promised to further improve on the success recorded in the Ekiti election.
