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Major Protests In Akwa Ibom, Demands To Cancel Polls

Major roads have been taken over by the protesters. The protesters are demanding the outright cancellation of the election. According to one of the protesters, "This election is the most fraudulent in the history of this country. We cannot accept it because it does not reflect the will of the people," one protester told SaharaReporters.

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Citizen reporters have sent photos of ongoing protests in Uyo, the Capital of Akwa Ibom State. These protests are a reaction to incidents of rigging and murder during the Governorship and State House of Assembly elections yesterday.

Major roads have been taken over by the protesters. The protesters are demanding the outright cancellation of the election. According to one of the protesters, "This election is the most fraudulent in the history of this country. We cannot accept it because it does not reflect the will of the people," one protester told SaharaReporters.

Akwa Ibom is a stronghold of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). President Jonathan won 93% of the vote in the presidential elections. The current Governor, Godswill Akpabio, was also elected to the Senate. However the APC might have a chance, it’s candidate Umana Okon Umana, was an Akpabio favorite and Secretary to the State Government until they fell out and he got fired. Now he has joined the APC and is running for Governor. Akpabio’s favored candidate, the PDP’s Udom Emmanuel, won the primary with significant backing from the Governor.

INEC also came in for criticism. "Jega is partly responsible for what happened yesterday,” an anonymous protester claimed, “because despite repeated warnings and several petitions that the Resident Electoral Commissioner had been compromised he refused to listen to us."