Yiaga Africa has expressed worry over reports on alleged intimidation of officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to bypass Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the Edo State governorship election.
The group also ascribed the late commencement of accreditation and voting in the Saturday’s governorship poll to logistic challenges.
The Chairman, Yiaga Africa 2024 Edo Election Mission, Dr. Aisha Abdullahi and Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, while speaking to journalists in Benin City, stated that despite a tense political climate, the governorship election began peacefully with minimal critical incidents.
“The lack of vehicles to transport ad hoc officials and election materials, and the absence of security personnel to accompany them, further contributed to the delays,” Yiaga Africa said.
The body stated that though most polling units had the presence of security agencies, it observed an uneven distribution of the security personnel, resulting in some densely populated polling units having limited security presence.
“Yiaga Africa deployed the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) methodology to observe the Edo State governorship election. This involved 300 stationary and 25 roving observers, covering a representative sample of polling units across all 18 LGAs.
“Yiaga Africa is concerned over reports of intimidation of INEC officials to bypass the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in Akoko-Edo LGA, missing results sheets in Polling Unit 1 in Ward 8, Orhionmwon LGA, and disruptions caused by political thugs chasing voters from Polling Unit 5 in Uwessan Ward 2, Esan Central LGA.
“These infractions risk voter suppression and election manipulation. Yiaga Africa calls on INEC to strictly enforce its guidelines and to resist any pressure to deviate from the electoral legal framework.
“Yiaga Africa commends the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and security agencies for their swift action in arresting suspected vote-buyers at polling units in Egor and Oredo LGAs.
“The commission should extend its operations to other LGAs where votes are being traded for N10,000 per voter even in the presence of security personnel.
“The Nigeria Police are also applauded for arresting and disarming political thugs with firearms on the eve of the election, contributing to a more secure election day environment.”