The election that resulted in his victory is different from the one conducted at the party's secretariat, an election he lost.
A faction of the Osun State chapter of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) has elected former deputy governor, Iyiola Omisore, as its flag bearer in the state's upcoming gubernatorial election.
In a similar election conducted by the party at its secretariat in Osogbo on Wednesday, July 18, 2018, Munirudeen Atanda emerged victorious over Omisore who, along with his supporters, boycotted the election despite being on the ballot.
In the other election conducted on Wednesday, Omisore emerged victorious with 123,485 votes, with Atanda finishing a distant third with 1,617 votes next to Yemisi Oladeji (1,805 votes) in second place.
Just like the election at the party's secretariat, the election that resulted in Omisore's victory was reportedly witnessd by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
The returning officer and chairman of the party’s electoral panel from Abuja, Prof. Rufai Alkali, announced the results and declared Omisore the winner. He noted that the election was transparent and fair to everyone involved in the process.
When SDP's Osun State chairman, Ademola Ishola, declared Atanda as the winner on Wednesday, he said the claims of factions in the party should be disregarded.
Omisore vs Osun SDP
Omisore has shared a frosty relationship with the state chapter of the party since he decamped from the People's Democratic Party (PDP) in April 2018.
Ishola accused him of trying to hijack the state's party structure by relating with officials at the SDP headquarters in Abuja.
With the election slated to hold on September 22, 2018, Omisore will hope to make up for his performance in the 2014 election which he lost to incumbent, Rauf Aregbesola.
He was the state's deputy governor between 1999 and 2003, and served as the Senator representing Osun East from 2003 to 2009.