THE Edo State governorship election held on Saturday, September 21, failed to meet the standards expected of a credible poll, YIAGA Africa, a civil society organization (CSO), declared hours after the election results were announced.
The organisation, which deployed its process and results verification for transparency (PRVT) methodology during the election, cited multiple issues bordering on logistical challenges to the manipulation of results during the collation process.
In a post-election statement issued on Monday, September 23, the organisation said its PRVT team, comprising 300 stationary and 25 roving observers, monitored polling units across all 18 local government areas (LGAs) in the state, to assess the quality of election day processes and verify the accuracy of the official results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
Yiaga Africa expressed serious concern over discrepancies between INEC’s official results and the figures it obtained at polling units.
“Based on reports received from the sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa can project the expected vote shares for each party within a narrow margin. However, Yiaga Africa is only able to verify the election outcome if it falls within its estimated margins. If the official results do not fall within Yiaga Africa’s estimated ranges, then the results may have been manipulated.
“According to INEC, the All Progressive Congress (APC) received 51.1 per cent of the votes, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) 43.3 per cent of the votes, and the Labour Party garnered 4.0 per cent of the votes. Based on reports from 287 of 300 (96 per cent) sampled polling units, Yiaga Africa’s statistical analysis shows inconsistencies in the official results announced by INEC.
“For instance, the official results announced by INEC for APC in Oredo and Egor LGAs fall outside the PRVT estimate. In Esan West LGA, the official results for PDP fall outside the PRVT estimates. Also, in Oredo LGA, the official results as announced for LP fall outside the PRVT estimates. These inconsistencies with Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates indicate that the results were altered at the level of collation,” the statement added.
It further noted that the disparities between the official results released by INEC and Yiaga Africa’s PRVT estimates indicate manipulation of results during the collation process.
It pointed to cases of disruption in Ikpoba/Okha, Etsako West, Egor, and Oredo LGAs during the collation of results, adding the incident has room for manipulation of results.
The organisation called for the immediate investigation of polling officials and security personnel involved in the alleged result manipulation.
It also called for a review of INEC’s collation guidelines, and the urgent amendment of the Electoral Act to make electronic transmission of results mandatory.
Speaking on other shortcomings it experienced during the exercise, Yiaga Africa listed logistical challenges, namely delayed commencement of accreditation and voting due to inadequate transportation for election materials and the absence of security personnel in some polling units, to have severely affected the election day proceedings.
“Yiaga Africa also condemns acts of violence and disruption of voting and results collation process by political thugs and hoodlums, particularly violence directed at voters and election officials. These unwholesome acts undermine the integrity of the elections.
“Yiaga Africa extends its sympathies to citizens and polling officials who suffered severe injuries and loss of valuable properties due to these attacks and violence. Yiaga Africa calls on security agencies to thoroughly investigate these cases of attacks and intimidation against voters and polling officials.”
The organisation’s position came hours after INEC declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Monday Okpebholo, the election winner.
The ICIR reported that Okpebholo polled 291,667 votes to defeat his closest rival and the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who won 247,274 votes.
However, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata, came a distant third after garnering 22,763 in the election.
With the declaration, Okpebholo will succeed the PDP’s Governor Godwin Obaseki, who leaves office on November 12 after serving two terms of four years apiece.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M