By Abubakar Yunusa
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the declaration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Mustapha Usman Shinkafi, as the winner of the recent rerun election for the Shinkafi State House of Assembly constituency.
The APC also signalled their intent to seek redress at the election petition tribunal, questioning the legitimacy of the polls and the declaration made by INEC’s Returning Officer, Professor Femi Rufus.
Dr. Sani Shinkafi, speaking on behalf of the Zamfara APC Concerned Stakeholders, vehemently disputed the election outcome.
In a statement on Tuesday, he pointed to a document from the National and State House of Assembly Tribunal for Zamfara State, dated September 21, 2023, as evidence of procedural violations.
According to him, the certified true copy of the judgment from the tribunal and the Court of Appeal in Abuja shows that the final election results announced by the Returning Officer contravened the Electoral Act 2022.
“This is a clear violation of the Electoral Act, disregard for the rule of law, total rape of democracy and daylight robbery of the constitutional rights of the good people of Shinkafi Local Government Area,” Dr. Shinkafi asserted.
The document cites that before the rerun election on February 3, 2024, the APC candidate, Usman Aliyu Mahmud, had led by 240 votes.
The rerun results added 809 votes for APC and 951 for PDP. However, the APC maintains that when combined with the previous tally, their candidate still leads by a margin of 98 votes.
Dr. Shinkafi called upon the constituents to remain calm and reassured them that Usman Shettima Mahmud Aliyu remains their legitimate representative.
He stated, “The good people of Shinkafi State Constituency should please remain calm. Another legal battle has just begun to reclaim our stolen mandate
“The ballot is sacrosanct. We are strongly determined to uphold and protect the integrity of the nation’s electoral process.”
He maintained that the election was inconclusive and that the subsequent declaration does not reflect the will of the people, nor does it respect the judgments of the courts.
Dr. Shinkafi urged the public to review the certified true copies of the judgments to understand the party’s contention with the rerun election results and the declaration of the purported winner.
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