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  Africcon Report: EDSIEC disagrees with election monitors’ reports
  Africcon New Media – News
  
  Edo State Independent Electoral Commission, on Wednesday, described the actions of some election observers, who monitored the April 20 council poll in the state as “patently political”.
  
  Addressing reporters in Benin, the EDSIEC Chairman, Solomon Ogor, said many of the “self-acclaimed election monitors,” who had  condemned the election  were those that did not meet the criteria for monitoring of the exercise.
  
  Represented by a commissioner,  Prof. Stanley Orobatror, the EDSIEC boss said those affected  were people who failed to force the commission to pay them for monitoring  the exercise.
  
  He however promised that the commission would conduct credible election in Esan North East Local Government, where the exercise was postponed as well as in the remaining wards in some LGAs.
  
  He said, “One hundred and four individuals and non-governmental organisations applied to be accredited, but on accepting their applications it was discovered that most of these applicants belonged to unregistered bodies, while some had forged registration certificates. The commission then screened the applications and reduced the number considerably and issued letters of acceptance indicating the absence of any financial commitment.
  
  “We were shocked when some of them arrived two days before the election and started demanding money to enable them to monitor the election, while others also came two days after the election demanding that the commission offset their bills.
  
  “It became imperative for the commission to explain to the observers that it never budgeted for their payment. Embittered by this development, some of them, who never submitted any report of their observations of the elections to the commission went to Abuja to organise a press conference to condemn the election.”