The Young Progressives Party (YPP) has rejected the outcome of the Anambra State governorship election, describing the process as flawed and vowing to challenge the result in court.
The party’s candidate, Paul Chukwuma, made this known in a statement issued on Sunday shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) winner of the keenly contested poll.
According to Chukwuma, the election was marred by widespread irregularities, vote buying, intimidation of voters, and alleged compromise by electoral officials in several local government areas.
“The outcome announced by INEC does not reflect the will of the people of Anambra State. What transpired across many polling units was a charade, not an election,” he said.
Chukwuma accused security agencies of turning a blind eye to incidents of financial inducement and harassment of party agents.
“Our agents were harassed and in some cases denied access to collation centres. We have overwhelming evidence of electoral malpractices, and we will not allow the mandate of the people to be stolen in broad daylight,” he added.
He announced that YPP’s legal team had begun compiling evidence and would file a petition before the Anambra State Election Petition Tribunal to seek redress.
While commending party supporters for their peaceful conduct during the polls, Chukwuma urged them to remain calm and law-abiding as the party pursues its case through constitutional means.
INEC had earlier declared Soludo the winner after he polled 422,664 votes to defeat his closest rival from the All Progressives Congress (APC), who garnered 99,445 votes, while YPP came third with 37,753 votes.
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