By Kunle SHONUGA
Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has commended the large turn out of voters for Saturday’s governorship election in the state.
Aregbesola, who spoke after casting his vote at 11:50 am at his Ifofin Ward 8, Unit 1 Polling Unit in Ilesa, also commended the Independent Electoral Commission(INEC) for the smooth conduct of the exercise.
Aregbesola arrived at the polling unit with his wife, Sherifat, at 11:38 am.
The governor said the large turnout of voters and their peaceful conduct was a signal to their desire to elect a leader of their choice.
” I must commend the voters for conducting themselves in a peaceful manner and for coming out in their large numbers.
” This is the beauty of democracy,’’ he said.
The governor also used the opportunity to dismiss the speculation that the payment of workers’ full salary before the election was for political reasons.
But the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) , Sen. Iyiola Omisore, lamented what he called irregularities in the conduct of the exercise.
Omisore, who spoke shortly after voting at his Moore Ward 1, 003 Polling Unit at 11:25 am, alleged that there were insufficient electoral materials in some polling units in Osogbo.
He also claimed that the card readers were malfunctioning in some polling units in Ile-Ife.
Omisore, however, urged the voters to exercise their civic responsibility by trooping out to vote.
He also urged the electorate to refrain from vote-selling, saying they would be mortgaging their future.
There are 3,010 Polling Units and 755 Polling Points spread across the three senatorial districts and 30 local governments areas of the state.
Although there are a total of 1,682,495 registered voters, over 400,000 Permanent Voters Cards remained uncollected as at Friday.
While 48 parties are participating in the election, Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress, Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party and Omisore of the SDP are the frontline candidates.
