Trend of vote trading was heightened during Ondo guber poll, says Situation Room

The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has decried the trend of vote-buying during the Ondo governorship election.

In an interim statement on the election, the civil society organisation said its observers found that polling units opened early across the state.

Situation Room said election officials and materials arrived early in 97 percent of the polling units but noted that vote trading was persistent.

“This situation has continued unabatedly and heightened in this election. It is worrying that, despite the high presence of security personnel at the polling units, vote trading went on openly unchecked during the voting hours,” the statement reads.

The civil society group said a report from the Cleen Foundation observation hub revealed that security deployment for the election was adequate and proportionate to the number of polling units.

“Situation Room observers reported that security personnel arrived early at the polling units. The police, in particular, were present in 84% of the polling unit observed at the official opening hour of polls, i.e., 8:30am,” it said.

“Security personnel observed at the polling units were generally polite and professional. In polling unit 64, ward 1 of Odigbo LGA, the security personnel intervened just in time when thugs attempted to disrupt the voting process.

“However, a policeman was observed attempting to influence voters’ choice in polling unit 15, ward 3 of Irele LGA, which culminated in conflict between accredited party agents.

“Also, the Kimpact Development Initiative mid-day report indicates that two incidents of violence have so far been tracked, none of which resulted in disruption of vote except in polling unit 3, ward 5 in Idanre LGA, where party supporters reported fired gunshots at the polling unit.”

Situation Room urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure strict compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and its guidelines concerning the collation of election results.

The organisation noted that collation of results has been a recurring challenge for INEC in recent off-cycle governorship elections.

“Situation Room welcomes the directive of the police authority that security of the collation centres will be headed by senior police officers, including assistant commissioners of police,” it said.

“We, therefore, expect a smooth and transparent collation process in this election. We commend the people of Ondo state for their peaceful conduct so far.”