Wole Oluyede, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Ekiti governorship election, has alleged voter suppression and harassment of party supporters by security operatives.
Oluyede spoke on Saturday after arriving at Polling Unit 6 in Ugele/Aroku Ward 3 of Ikere LGA.
The chieftain later cast his ballot at the polling unit at about 9:31am.
He expressed concerns over the pace of voting at the polling unit and questioned the conduct of the electoral process.
“People have been here for about one and a half hours, and only five people have voted in my polling unit,” he said.
“That’s what they do all the time. So I am suspecting that there’s something wrong with the INEC process.”
The candidate said he would remain at the polling unit to monitor the exercise.
“I’m going to hang around. If they are voting for five people per hour, that is sad. Something is wrong,” he said.
Oluyede also alleged that officials had been unable to reach an INEC technician to resolve glitches.
“They have been calling the RATECH for the last 45 minutes. No response,” he said.
“The INEC cannot disenfranchise these people. It is sad for democracy. Although I am still very confident that my people are still going to stay here peacefully.”
The PDP candidate further alleged that security personnel were intimidating voters and party supporters in parts of Ikere.
“Go to that place (referring to the garage axis beside Ikere city hall), there is an army of policemen harassing people,” he said.
