The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) in Bauchi State have rejected the results of the recently concluded local government elections in the state.
The Bauchi State Independent Electoral Commission (BASIEC) announced on Saturday evening that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all 20 LG chairmanship seats in the election.
Dissatisfied with the outcome, APC has called for the election's cancellation and demanded the immediate resignation of BASIEC chairman, Alhaji Ahmad Makama.
The chairman of APC in the state, Alhaji Muhammad A. Hassan, described the election as "broad-day robbery of franchise and a murder of democracy committed by the Bauchi State electoral body."
Hassan further alleged that the election was marred by irregularities, including inadequate materials, withheld sensitive documents, vote allocation to PDP, absence of returning officers, and abandonment of polling units by electoral officers.
He called for the dissolution of the current BASIEC management and the reconstitution of a credible team to conduct fresh elections.
Similarly, the PRP Bauchi State Chapter also rejected the election results, labelling the process as an "electoral heist" orchestrated by the PDP, BASIEC and the Bauchi State chapter of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).
In a statement signed by its State Secretary, Hon. Abdulazeez Haruna, PRP condemned the alleged manipulation of the electoral process, which they claimed had reduced democracy to an authoritarian practice.
Haruna stated, "Elective positions, which should be decided by the people, were instead shared among an undemocratic syndicate. The people of Bauchi State were disenfranchised and denied their right to vote for their preferred candidates. This is a grave injustice and a mockery of democracy."
The PRP warned those involved in the alleged electoral fraud that history would judge them harshly and hinted at taking further actions to ensure justice is served.