*Provisions of Electoral Act 2022 compromised
STATEMENT OF THE NIGERIA CIVIL SOCIETY SITUATION ROOM AND ITS ACCREDITED MEMBER ORGANISATIONS ON THE 2024 EDO STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION HELD ON SATURDAY, 21ST SEPTEMBER 2024
– Issued in Abuja @ 3:45pm on Monday, 23rd September 2024
Background: This is a statement of the Situation Room and some of its accredited member organisations -Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), Yiaga Africa, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), and TAF Africa – based on findings from the various observation hubs on the 2024 Edo State Governorship Election.
Introduction
On 21 September, 2024, the Situation Room and its accredited member organisations had deployed observers across the Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Edo state to observe the election day process and the results collations. As noted in the preliminary statements of Situation Room and its accredited member organisations, the election experienced a slow start as a result of logistical challenges which led to the late commencement of polls across several polling units in the state.
While the situation room noted the late start of polls, it commended INEC for the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) which enabled a relatively smooth accreditation and voting process.
While the voting process was concluded in a relatively peaceful atmosphere, the results collation process in some LGAs were not peaceful and did not meet the electoral integrity standards for results managements.
On Sunday the 22 of September 2024, issued a statement expressing concerns over the transparency of the collation of the election results. The statement, had highlighted reports of disruptions at ward and local government collation centers in Ikpoba/Okha, Etsako West, Egor and Oredo Local Government Areas (LGAs) and reports of intimidation of INEC officials and attempts to collate results contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines.
The statement called on INEC to invoke its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 to review any declarations and returns where results were not declared voluntarily or violated provisions of the electoral act and INEC regulations and guidelines. These were significant concerns about the credibility of the results collation process.
Following the collation and declaration of results of the Edo State Governorship election held on Saturday, 21st September 2024, we make the following observations.
Collation Process
The Situation Room and its partners are concerned that the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and guidelines of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on collation process appeared to have been compromised in the Edo State Governorship election 2024.
As with previous elections, the collation process in this election is again a weak link. Our observation of the collation process shows that it was not transparent nor opened to representatives of the various candidates in some cases. In addition, it lacks transparency in the application of the provision of the Electoral Act and the INEC Guidelines on over-voting and cancellation of results from polling units. This raised major question on the lack of clarity and uniformity in the application of rule on cancellation of ballots across different LGAs. Indeed, the report of many collation venues operating in darkness is also questionable.
Reports of Situation Room member organisations, including from Yiaga Africa’s Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) and KDI’s Ballot Integrity Project (BIP), reveal contradictions between the final results declared and the results declared at the polling unit level in some LGAs. This occurrence was particularly observed in Egor, Ikpoba Okha, Oredo, Esan West and Ovia South-West LGAs.
Over-Voting
There were several reports of over-voting as revealed by findings from the various observation hubs, including the CDD-West Africa’s Election Analysis Centre (CDD-EAC). Over-voting was reported from more than 370 polling units across the 18 LGAs of the State by our various observers.
Inclusivity
According to reports of TAF Africa, deployment of assistive tools such as Braille Ballot Guides for persons with visual impairment, magnifying glasses for persons with albinism and Form EC40H PWD Information booklet were absent in many voting locations where they were needed, including Agbado polling units 21 and 25, in Oredo LGAs. This situation forced many voters with disability to resort to Assisted Voting, thereby compromising their independence and privacy.
Recommendations
The Situation Room and its member organisations call on:
INEC to investigate polling officials and collation officers involved in violating the guidelines on results collation.
INEC to clarify the inconsistencies in some of the results from the LGAs identified in the observation reports.
Calls on Security to provide updates on the number of arrests made during the elections and information on the disciplinary steps taken against its officers who enabled any form of election malpractice or manipulation.
Conclusion
It is our observation that the Edo State Governorship election 2024 failed to fulfil the requirement of the conduct of credible elections, and again, raises questions about election credibility in Nigeria. As with recent polls, INEC’s ability and willingness to conduct credible elections in Nigeria remains questionable.
