According to Yiaga Africa, an election monitoring organization, 5,169,962 people have registered to vote and have permanent voter cards in order to compete in the governor’s race on November 11 in the states of Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi.
The group emphasized that the commitment of important democratic institutions like the Independent National Electoral Commission, security agencies, and the executive to restore public confidence in the electoral process will be tested in Saturday’s polls. The group noted that these are the first elections following Nigeria’s divisive and controversial general elections of 2023.
Important Yiaga Africa officials Cynthia Mbamalu and Ezenwa Nwagwu noted that the pre-election atmosphere in the states indicates that these are high-stakes elections with the possibility of violence, vote-buying, and other misbehavior.
They stated that Nigerians who would be voting in the three states wanted a secure atmosphere where they could vote without fear of violence, repression, or intimidation.
Yiaga stated at a news conference on Friday in Abuja that as voters head to the polls, they anticipate prompt distribution of election materials, an early start to registration and voting, and open and honest tallying and compilation of results to guarantee the result represents the will of the people.
“We take notice of INEC’s election readiness level. In the three states, the commission conducted a number of preliminary actions, such as staff training and the distribution of sensitive and non-sensitive documents.
“To test the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) and INEC Results Viewing Portal (IReV), the commission successfully conducted a mock accreditation in October in the three states; however, Yiaga Africa’s observation report on the mock accreditation notes that the exercise’s turnout was appallingly low.
Voters were asked for monetary rewards in exchange for taking part in the survey. Yiaga Africa requests that INEC carefully set up BVAS and guarantee that only personnel with the necessary training use the equipment on election day. To improve results management process transparency, it is equally necessary to maintain strict adherence to the uploading of genuine result sheets from the polling stations on IReV.
We are also concerned about the unquestionable degree of insecurity and the recent wave of violence throughout the states, particularly in the states of Kogi and Imo. The offensive misuse of incumbency powers, which takes the form of campaign restrictions, fines and fees on campaign posters, and assaults on political opponents, is another cause for worry.
“The culture of impunity permeating the political process is further strengthened by the absence of accountability for the attacks and fatalities documented throughout the pre-election period.
“Effective cooperation and coordination with relevant institutions like the INEC, the Nigerian Police, and other security agencies is essential to the administration of a peaceful and transparent election.” For example, INEC needs sufficient security protection in order to distribute materials to some extremely volatile Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Imo state, such as Oguta, Orsu, and Orlu LGAs, among others, that are violently inclined.
“Yiaga Africa stated that enhanced security deployment in high-risk areas will facilitate the participation of voters, election observers, and media professionals in the three states’ elections.”