Three front runners in Edo Election. Asue Ighodalo, Olumide Akpata and Monday Okpebholo
YIAGA Africa, a civil society organisation (CSO), has identified three key factors that will determine the successful conduct of the Edo State governorship election scheduled for Saturday, September 21.
It also said the election would be used to measure the integrity of Nigeria’s electoral system.
The group, in a statement on Thursday, September 19, listed the impartiality of security agencies, citizens’s resilience, and the integrity of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as key indicators that would shape the exercise and further show how Nigeria’s electoral system has fared.
According to the organisation, the voter registration data for the election indicate a significant increase in voter engagement compared to the previous election in 2020.
It added that a total of 2,629,025 voters have registered for the election, indicating a 19 per cent increase from the 2,210,535 registered in 2020.
“Of these, 2,249,780 (85.57 per cent of registered voters) have collected their permanent voter cards (PVCs), indicating a high level of interest among the electorate to participate in this crucial election.”
The organisation noted in its pre-election observation reports that the election campaigns had been largely dominated by three major parties: All Progressive Congress (APC), the Labour Party, and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
It added that the campaigns, however, devolved into a contest marked by personal attacks, character assassination, hate speech, and ‘blame-game politics’, particularly between the major contenders.
The group argued that parties relegated issue-based politics and opted for divisive rhetoric and strong-arm tactics, potentially inflaming tensions and deepening divisions among the electorate.
Additionally, Yiaga Africa praises the peacebuilding efforts led by the National Peace Committee, noting that the peace accord, signed by all political parties and candidates was an essential step toward ensuring a peaceful and violence-free election.
It urged all parties and candidates to honour their commitments to the peace accord, emphasising the importance of conducting the election in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for democratic principles.
The group said it had monitored INEC’s preparations for the election including training of its personnel and deploying both non-sensitive and sensitive materials necessary for the electoral process.
Despite theses efforts, the organisation said it noted a ‘disappointingly’ low turnout for the mock accreditation exercise.
This, it said, raised concerns about public awareness and engagement with the electoral process, as effective voter accreditation is essential to preventing fraud and ensuring that the election results reflect the true will of the electorate.
Yiaga Africa noted a tense and volatile political climate for the election and stated that the activities of cult groups and political thugs intensified amidst the proliferation of small and light arms.
The election monitoring group said it is concerned that politicians would tactically employ violence and intimidation to suppress voters in specific polling units and local government areas (LGAs).
It warned that armed groups and political thugs might disrupt INEC’s deployment of election material or elections at the polling units to influence the outcome of the poll.
Besides, it identified eight LGAs as hotspots for violence. They include, Ikpoba/Okha, Oredo, Egor, Ovia South-West, Ovia North-East, Esan South-East, Etsako West and Etsako East.
It suggested that the volatile security environment in these LGAs required a strategic and neutral deployment of security forces.
Yiaga Africa urges the voters to demonstrate resilience by turning up to vote in the polling units and resist attempts at vote-buying, intimidation, and manipulation before, during and after the election.
The group also urged INEC to demonstrate its capacity to conduct a transparent and credible election by managing logistics effectively to enable early commencement of voting across all polling units.
To safeguard the transparency of the results collation at all levels, it said INEC should establish a robust oversight mechanism for collation officers, ensuring accountability and granting access to accredited party agents, election observers, and media personnel at result collation centres.
It also called on INEC to ensure proper and timely communication with stakeholders on the election day process, communicate challenges experienced, and share immediate plans to address those challenges to inspire citizens’ confidence in the process.
It challenged security agents deployed for the exercise to strictly adhere to the code of conduct for election security which includes acting professionally without bias, apprehending electoral offenders, and respecting the rights of citizens, media, and observers.
The group said that it would deploy 325 trained and accredited observers, both stationary and roving, to monitor the poll.
ICIR