BY Vivian Chime
The Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa) says there is a need to review the results of the Edo state gubernatorial election uploaded to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) viewing portal (IReV) against what was announced after the poll.
In a post-election statement, Adele Jinadu, the chairman of the CDD election analysis centre, said there is a need for INEC to transparently resolve any controversy and loss of confidence in the collation of results.
“We note that the inconsistency of the reporting means we are unsure if it was overvoting, poor data input, or a combination of other factors,” the statement reads.
“The CDD observed the upload of blurry results in: Ozolua Primary School II, Abumwenre, Okokhua ward/RA 09, Ovia North-East LGA. Furthermore, results from various polling units in Etsako East were observed as overvoting.
“In Weppa Registration Area, polling unit at Osholo primary school, Etsako East Local Government, INEC also uploaded a result where the votes recorded for the APC were higher than the accredited number of voters, with 213 accredited voters, but 352 votes for the APC and 52 for the PDP.”
‘A SMOOTH ELECTION WITHOUT FEAR OF VIOLENCE’
Jinadu said the election “largely went on smoothly,” noting that there were recorded incidents of “minor violence, failed accreditation in some LGAs, as well as persons sighted voting without PVCs”.
“Despite the late start in several polling units, the voting process went on smoothly. Furthermore, notwithstanding the political tension, due mainly to the identity-driven rhetoric and disinformation that characterised the electioneering campaign, the voting process on Election Day was largely peaceful.
“Voters cast their ballots enthusiastically, without the fear of violence.”
However, he said some political actors attempted to disrupt the result collation process when gunmen snatched a ballot box from a polling unit in Owan west.
“There was a report of the cancellation of voting because of violence in Ikoro Community, Units 5 and 15 of the Oghede Ward in Ovia North East LG,” he said.
“However, the collation officer at the point of announcing results noted that results were not cancelled. In Unit 5 specifically, Ikoro Primary School, the form EC 8A as uploaded on IREV has 1050 registered voters, but only 31 voters were accredited.
“CDD-EAC notes with concern the reported visit to the State Collation Centre by the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, and the disruption of the collation process underway at Ikpoba Okha and Oredo Local Government Areas (LGAs) by some party members.”
‘BVAS WORKED EFFICIENTLY IN MOST POLLING UNITS’
Jinadu noted that the BVAS machines were “efficient in carrying out accreditation and were used in virtually all the polling units in a timely manner.”
“Where there was a BVAS malfunction, it was fixed within 30 minutes to an hour, except a case in Esan North-East, Ward 4, Unit 4 Code 4, where the BVAS malfunction was never fixed,” he said.
“Another positive outcome of the elections was the timely upload of polling unit results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal.
“By 3:30 p.m. on election day, CDD-EAC observers had recorded that 35.56% of the election results had been uploaded to the INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV).
“By 6:00 p.m. on the same day, this figure had risen to 83.96%. By 2:00 a.m. on September 22, 2024, 98.07% of the results had been uploaded.
“However, there was a noticeable slowdown in the process following this point, with the upload rate reaching 98.61% by 11:39 a.m. on September 22, 2024.”
He commended security operatives, who were “vigilant” in arresting people engaging in vote-buying, adding that there should be a speedy and thorough investigation and trial of the cases.
He also recommended that INEC should work closely with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) in subsequent elections to ensure adequate arrangements for safeguarding paper-based election materials from rain and the provision of proper shelters for citizens.
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