Edo Poll: APC, PDP locked in tight race as results near completion

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are neck and neck in the ongoing Edo State gubernatorial election.

According to reports, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has uploaded about 97% of the results from 4,519 polling units onto its Result Viewing (IReV) portal, revealing a closely contested race between PDP’s Asue Ighodalo and APC’s Senator Monday Okpebholo.

PDP’s Ighodalo is reportedly leading in the Edo South Senatorial District, while APC’s Okpebholo has an edge in Edo North.

Despite earlier projections suggesting that the Labour Party (LP) would be a strong contender, the LP candidate, Olumide Akpata, is currently trailing in third place, having lost his polling unit to the PDP.

The election has seen some political heavyweights, including Governor Godwin Obaseki, Asue Ighodalo, and Senator Adams Oshiomhole, secure victories in their respective polling units.

However, there have been allegations from the PDP that the APC is plotting to use thugs to disrupt the collation process, along with claims of mounting pressure on INEC officials to suspend collation for potential manipulation.

Despite these allegations and a few arrests by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for vote-buying, the election process has remained largely peaceful so far.