A coalition of accredited civil society organizations monitoring the 2024 Edo State governorship elections has expressed concerns about the transparency of the ongoing results collation process.
The group, including the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, Yiaga Africa, Kimpact Development Initiative, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, ElectHER, and TAF Africa, jointly issued a statement on Sunday citing irregularities and disruptions at various collation centres.
According to the statement, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is overseeing the collation process, but reports have emerged about disruptions, including alleged intimidation of INEC officials.
“Reports of disruptions at ward and local government collation centres, including intimidation of INEC officials and attempts to collate results contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, raise significant concerns about the credibility of the results collation process,” the statement read in part.
The observer group for Saturday’s polls in the state emphasized that these actions raise doubts about the transparency and legitimacy of the election outcome.
The statement comes after the INEC acknowledged the reports of result tampering and pledged to investigate and address any confirmed violations.
The civil society organizations called on the electoral umpire to use its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 to review any declarations and results that were not transparently or voluntarily declared, stressing the importance of ensuring that results align with the provisions of the electoral act and INEC’s regulations.
Further, the coalition urged law enforcement to refrain from interfering in the process and ensure that accredited election observers, party agents, and the media are granted full access to collation centres without hindrance.
“We further call on security agencies to refrain from interference in the collation process and to ensure that accredited party agents, the media, and election observers are granted full access to collation centres.
“We wish to emphasize that the role of security agencies in the election is to safeguard the process and not to create a situation that will undermine the transparency of the process.”
The statement emphasized that security agencies must avoid actions that could compromise the transparency of the process and, by extension, the credibility of the election results.
Thirteen candidates are vying to succeed Governor Godwin Obaseki as the next Edo State governor, but the leading contenders come from three major political parties of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and the Labour Party (LP).
