The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room and its accredited member organisations have stated that the recently concluded Edo governorship election failed to meet the standards of a credible election.
In a press briefing held on Monday in Abuja, the observers shared their findings on the Saturday election.
The coalition includes prominent organisations such as the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD-West Africa), Yiaga Africa, Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), the Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), and TAF Africa.
Delivering a joint statement on behalf of the groups, Mrs. Mimijoo Achakpa, Co-Convener of the Situation Room, expressed dissatisfaction with the results collation process, raising concerns about the overall credibility of the election.
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“The Situation Room and its partners are concerned that the provisions of the Electoral Act 2022 and guidelines of INEC (Independent National Electoral Commission) on collation process appeared to have been compromised in the Edo State Governorship election 2024.
“The collation process in this election was 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’’, she said.
According to Mrs. Achakpa, there were numerous reports of over-voting and a lack of inclusion, with voters with disabilities forced to rely on assisted voting, compromising their independence and privacy.
The observers recommended that INEC investigate polling officials and collation officers implicated in violating guidelines on result collation.
Ms. Cynthia Mbamalu, Director of Programmes at Yiaga Africa, called on security agencies to inform the public about disciplinary actions taken against officers found guilty of election fraud.
She emphasized that elections should be conducted with integrity, which, in this case, was lacking.
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