The Peoples Democratic Party has rejected the results of the Edo governorship election held on Wednesday, even as the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, was yet to declare an overall winner.

Dan Orbih, the State Chairman of the party made this known in a press conference on Thursday in Benin, the state capital.

At the press conference, which was also attended by the party’s governorship candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the PDP said the results being announced by INEC were “fabricated and pre-determined”.

Orbih said that the results did not tally with the figures the party got from it agents and independent observers.

He alleged that the two-week extension of the poll by the electoral body was to allow for more time to perfect the manipulation of the process.

“You will recall that our state Publicity Secretary had briefed the press less than 48 hours to the elections on what is playing out now,” Orbih said.

“If you go by the results that were announced at the polling units and wards across the state, it shows that PDP would have won by over 30,000 votes.

“What INEC is announcing is clearly different from what we got from our agents and independent observers in the 192 wards and over 2,000 units across the state.

“We are rejecting these results as they were being announced by INEC and we are coming out early enough to make this known.”

Orbih insisted that the cancellation of some results on the grounds of failed card reader was part of a deliberate plan to manipulate the poll, especially as the areas where results were cancelled were stronghold of the PDP.

He said, “I wonder what the Incident Form is for. Voters should not be made to suffer unduly for the inefficiency of card readers.”

Ize-Iyanmu said his position was the same as that of the party.

“The results are not a true reflection of what happened in the field. The INEC only played a script written by the Government of Edo,” he said.