EdoDecides2020: At last, INEC declares Godwin Obaseki winner!

Sunday, September 20, 2020 2:56 pm

By Richard Elesho/Benin City

Governor Godwin Obaseki

It is official. After hours of Collation of results, the Independent National Electoral Commission has declared Godwin Obaseki, candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP reelected in the Edo State Governorship Election 2020.

The Returning Officer in the election, Prof. Agofure Rukeh of Federal University of Petroleum Technology, Efurun, returned Obaseki re-elected after he polled 307,955 votes to beat his closest challenger and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu who scored 223,619.

The Returning Officer said having scored the highest number of votes in the election and met all constitutional requirements, he declared Obaseki and his running mate Philip Shuaibu, re-elected as Governor and Deputy Governor respectively.

According to the Returning Officer, 557,443 persons were accredited for the election. Out of this figure, 540,342 people cast their votes. However, 12,835 votes were rejected for various electoral infractions.

Fourteen political parties participated in the election. However it was clear from the beginning that it was a straight two-horse race between Obaseki and Iyamu. Both men have come a long way in term of political rivalry.

In 2016 Obaseki, then of the APC, also gave Ize-Iyamu of the PDP a bloody nose.