Allegations of electoral malpractice have surfaced in Unit 4, Ward 7, Osogbo Local Government in the ongoing Osun local government elections.
The Labour Party (LP) Chairmanship candidate for Osogbo Local Government, Barrister Bode Babalola claimed that thumb-printed ballot papers were stuffed into ballot boxes before reaching his polling unit.
He alleged that as of 9:30 a.m., no electoral officers were present at the polling station.
“Upon the arrival of OSSIEC electoral officers, ballot papers had already been thumb-printed,” Babalola alleged.
“When I came here in the morning, the place was empty. However, I later received information that some powerful PDP men had called OSSIEC officials to a meeting. I also discovered that in Units 7 and 16, ballot boxes had already been filled up,” he stated.
PDP Secretary Defends Electoral Process
Despite the allegations, the PDP Ward 7 Secretary, Kasali Nurudeen Olalekan, described the election in the same polling unit as peaceful and well-organized.
According to him, “OSSIEC officials arrived on time, and voting commenced by 8:00 a.m., with party agents verifying election materials before the process began.”
“The election went smoothly, and the electorate came out to vote for their preferred candidates without violence,” Olalekan said.
Meanwhile, some voters alleged that the election did not take place in their polling units, while reports indicated that some polling units completed voting earlier than expected.
