THE results of just-concluded governorship elections in Edo state have revealed that only two out of every 10 registered voters within the state participated in the electioneering exercise that secured victory for All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Monday Okpebholo.
The Edo elections election was conducted on Saturday, September 21 in 4,519 polling units announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Subsequently, the next day, INEC declared Okpebholo as the winner of the ballot after pulling 291,667 votes to secure the governorship seat.
Okpebholo defeated his two major rivals; the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), candidate, Asue Ighodalo, who won 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 into 10s, 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.
The elections numbers
As mentioned the total number of votes in the Edo polls was 583,965. Of this amount, only 570,690 votes were valid representing 97.73 votes cast.
A total number of 13,275 votes were nullified across the 18 local government areas where the elections were conducted. This is about 2.27 per cent of the total votes.
Interestingly, the total number of invalid votes is surprisingly close to the total votes cast in Igueben local government, which stood at 15,267. Although the invalid vote count is lower in comparison, when combined, it is nearly on par with the entire turnout in Igueben.
Further findings from our data gathering showed that none of the 18 local government areas had 50 per cent of its registered voters participating in the election.
Only five LGAs pulled between 30 to 37 per cent of its registered voters to the election ground. These LGAs are Akoko Edo, Esan Central, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Owan East and Owan West.
By this, the remaining 12 LGAs below 30 per cent of voters during the exercise. The lowest participation was recorded in Ikpoba Okha, Egor, Oredo and Ovia North East with less than 20 per cent of registered voters.
Okpebholo’s victory in numbers
After securing the majority vote of 291,667, INEC announced the APC’s candidate as the winner. Okpebholo had won by 51.11 per cent of the total valid votes cast during the exercise.
This is not any different from the trend of winners in previous elections held in the state. Our data showed that governorship winners of Edo state have always secured more than 50 per cent of the total vote cast.
Beyond securing the majority votes, the APC candidates also won 11 local government areas out of the 18 LGAs in the state. [See The ICIR’s dashboard on the election here].
Meanwhile, our findings from the data showed that the 11 LGAs secured by Okpebholo had more voter participation than other LGAs.
For instance, Ikpoba Okha which has the highest number of registered voters in the state was won by the opposition party, PDP. Despite this, only 12 per cent of voters in the LGA participated in the election, making it less significant for Okpebholo’s victory.
Past election turn out
The ICIR went further to check the trend of voters’ participation in the previous elections held in the state. Findings showed that in the last two elections held in 2020 and 2016, which brought in the outgoing governor, Godwin Obaseki, not up to 35 per cent participated in the election.
In 2016, only 32.37 per cent of registered voters participated in the electioneering exercise. The turnout dropped to 24.89 per cent in the 2020 election, giving Obaseki a second tenure in governance.
| Year | Registered voters | Total vote cast | % difference |
| 2024 | 2,629,025 | 583,965 | 22.21% |
| 2020 | 2,210,534 | 550,242 | 24.89% |
| 2016 | 1,900,233 | 613,244 | 32.27% |
| 2012 | – | 667,993 | – |
| 2007 | 1,345,410 | – | – |
| 2003 | 1,432,891 | 1,142,519 | 79.74% |
| 1999 | 1,414,511 | 827,563 | 58.51% |
Table showing previous election results in Edo. Source: Media reports [Note: data could not be verified in the empty spaces]
While The ICIR could not completely verify the data for the 2012 and 2017 elections, our data showed that more voters participated in Edo state’s 1999 and 2003 elections with more than 55 per cent of registered voters casting their votes.
Kehinde Ogunyale tells stories by using data to hold power into account. You can send him a mail at jameskennyogunyale@gmail or Twitter: Prof_KennyJames | LinkedIn: Kehinde Ogunyale