The Independent National Electoral Commission has stated that it should not be blamed for the vote-buying that occurred during the Edo State governorship election on September 21, 2024.

The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Rotimi Oyekanmi stated that vote-buying is a widespread issue linked to the actions of political parties and not the electoral body.

Vote-buying and alleged result manipulation are all tied to unscrupulous attempts to gain an unmerited advantage in order to win an election.

He further stated that INEC can and should not be held responsible for vote-buying and that other stakeholders should also play their part and stop undermining the electoral process.

INEC had declared Monday Okpebholo, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, winner of the election after he secured 291,667 votes.

He defeated Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party, who received 247,274 votes.

However, the election was overshadowed by allegations of voter manipulation, vote-buying, and irregularities.

Election observers, including civil society organizations, condemned the process, with some rejecting the results in certain local government areas.