THE recent governorship elections in Edo State has again raised significant concerns about the credibility of Nigeria’s electoral process.
The election is reported to have been marred by low voter turnout with up to half of the registered voters not participating in the poll.
Although 17 political parties jostled for votes in the poll, three candidates – APC’s Monday Okpebholo, PDP’s Asue Ighodalo, and Olumide Akpata of the Labour Party (LP), were the frontline contenders.
The ICIR observed that logistical inefficiencies, voters’ inducement, and delays of INEC officials in some polling units, particularly in the Esan district, where the APC and PDP candidates emerged, characterised the exercise.
Beyond that, voter intimidation, adverse weather conditions, and a general sense of apathy among voters were also observed to have influenced the turnout in the election.
However, unlike in the previous elections, there were fewer issues around the accreditation of voters with BVAS, even though some voters could not exercise their franchise in some polling units due to its malfunctions.
As of early morning, polling units in areas like Uromi saw INEC officials setting up but struggling to draw crowds. At various locations, including the Egbele Primary School in ward 1, Unit 3, and the Otoruwa primary school, voters were seen searching for their names on the register.
Many units experienced delays, with some polling officials unprepared or understaffed, leading to frustration among those waiting to cast their votes.
Although some voters who spoke with The ICIR mentioned that they were not deterred by the early morning rain, which began around N7;30 am, many were seen heading back the moment it started raining. The rain, however, did not stop until hours later.
This was also evident in polling units like ward 4, where voters were scarce despite hundreds registered to participate in the area.
Only two out of 10 participated in Edo election
Following the announcement of the results of the elections, The ICIR reports that only two out of every 10 registered voters within the state participated in the exercise that secured victory for All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo.
The Edo election, which took place on Saturday, September 21, across 4,519 polling saw Okpebholo secure 291,667 votes to defeat his two major rivals; the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who got 247,274 votes, and the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Olumide Akpata, who had 22,763 votes in the election.
However, an introspection into the figures that make up the elections showed that only 22.21 per cent of registered voters participated in the gubernatorial election. The total number of registered voters was 2.63 million, while the total number of votes was 583,965.
When broken down, it translates into approximately two votes cast out of 10 registered voters.
Similarly, if the total number of people who collected their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) was placed alongside the total votes, this would mean that only 25.96 per cent of people went to the polls to vote.
Logistical hurdles
Compounding the weather issues were logistical challenges faced by voters.
For instance, in ward 2, unit 2 at Obeidu primary school, only one official was present, leading to agitation and confusion among waiting voters.
In ward 2, unit 15, Esan Southeast, voters expressed their outrage when INEC ad-hoc staff forgot stamps at the registration area centres, rendering them unable to vote early.
One of the aggrieved voters, Mabel Jato said, “As of now, we have not voted because we don’t have stamps. The INEC officials said there was not stamp for them. So we don’t know what to do but we are yet to start our voting as at this time.
“We have been calling them but no attention from them. We are more than 200 in this unit.”
The presiding officer of the unit said the centre refused to provide them with stamps, despite several calls to their superior.
This case was not limited to these polling units as several others visited by The ICIR complained about the delay in the election process and how INEC staff came several hours late to the polling units.
At the PDP governorship candidate’s unit, the candidate, his brother, Ituah Ighodalo and few other residents in the polling unit 2, ward 1, Ewehimi, Esan Southeast, accused the INEC of attempt to disenfranchise many voters due to late arrival of its staff to the unit.
It was gathered that INEC officials came about three hours late to the unit, with many voter still fighting for space on the line as of 1:pm on the election day.
Vote buying, possible results manipulations
Meanwhile, this election was not different from the past elections that have been held across the country, as there were allegations of widespread voter’s inducement and vote buying.
Although, The ICIR observed that the parties’ agents were smart in engaging in such electoral offence, over five cases of vote buying were observed from party agents.
Findings showed that at Usugbenu Primary School agents were permitted to stand near polling booths and influence the voting process.
In another instance, voters were observed being approached by individuals offering cash of up to N5000 and a sachet of alcohol in exchange for their votes.
This case extended to other polling units in the Esan district. The ICIR observed vote buying and voters’ inducement from the party’s loyalists and agents at ward 2, unit 2, Ewohimi II, Esan Southeast. The agents were observed to be sharing N500 note to voters.
Beyond our findings on the field, YIAGA Africa, which is said to have deployed 25 roving observers to polling units across all 18 LGAs in the state, reported many instances of manipulation of results by INEC.
It noted that based on reports from 287 of 300 (96 per cent) sampled polling units, its statistical analysis shows inconsistencies in the official results announced by INEC.
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.
Fear of violence breaking out during poll
The heated atmosphere into the poll was another factor gathered to have influenced the outcome of the election, as many residents sat back due to fear of possible political clash and confrontation between the police and the thugs.
The ICIR reports that the pre-election activities in the state had been characterised by drama from the leading political parties, including the ruling party in the state, the PDP and the APC.
This tense atmosphere left many residents anxious about their safety.
Reports of clashes between rival political supporters in the preceding weeks along with a heavy security presence, contributed to growing concerns that the election might devolve into chaos.
Although the increased security presence was expected to have been a relief to residents and secured the polling centres, some of them instead saw it as a trigger for potential skirmishes.
According to Igbinigie Mathew, residents, including himself, were scared of the ‘heavy’ security presence in the state, adding that ‘election is not war.’
Another resident, who identified himself as Omoruyi, said since the Edo Security Network was banned from the governorship poll, there had been heavy mobilisation of security operatives across the state, which might have impacted the turnout of voters during the poll.
Security operatives professional
Despite the initial fears of possible violence, the professionalism of security operatives was attested to by many observers who covered other parts of the state during the poll.
The security operatives, including the police, Nigerian Military, Civil Defence Corps, were observed to have maintained order and ensured the safety of citizens during the elections.
In some polling units across ward 5, it was observed how the Nigerian police and the Civil Defence, heightened security when thugs looking individuals tried to gain access into the premises.
Similarly, in Usugbenu primary school, Esau Central LGA, the operatives were able to quell a brewing electoral violence at the polling stations.
Unlike in previous elections, there seem to have been minimal incidents of violence and harassment of voters, observers and media practitioners, by the security operatives, particularly the police.
However, there were reported pockets of violence in units like Ikpoba/Okha, Etsako West, Egor, and Oredo LGAs during the collation of results.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M