Issued in Akure: 12:00noon on Wednesday, 20th November 2024
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room (Situation Room) observed the Ondo State Governorship held on Saturday, 16th November 2024, deploying accredited observers across the 18 Local Government Areas of the State. Situation Room also received reports from its member organisations and networks during the election.
In addition to its earlier statements on the election, Situation Room notes the following observations:
GENERAL
The Ondo State Governorship election 2024 was generally peaceful with voters conducting themselves calmly at the polling units. The conduct of this Governorship election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was a great improvement from recently conducted off-cycle Governorship elections in the country. Situation Room commends INEC for this observed improvement, and the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Ondo State for keeping to her assurances and frequent engagements with stakeholders ahead of the election.
Also, reports from Situation Room observers and member organisations indicate that security agents conducted themselves professionally throughout the campaign period and the election.
Despite these gains, the level of vote buying, as in recent elections, and a general lack of commitment to a competitive electioneering process by the political parties, were the drawbacks in this election. Situation Room is therefore calling for an Electoral reform that can urgently address these issues.
ELECTION ADMINISTRATION
The Situation Room notes the early arrival of election personnel and materials at the polling units across the State, leading to the timely commencement of voting in 97% of the polling units observed. INEC’s early deployment of sensitive materials to the Registration Area Centres (RACs) and Super RACs as well as clear communication of routes to drivers who were responsible for conveying election materials and personnel to the polling units was very helpful.
The voting processes also went smoothly, including accreditation of voters using the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), in most of the polling units. It was also observed that collation of results from the Ward level to the State was concluded in an orderly manner, and without any drama. This is a direct opposite of the Edo State Governorship election 2024 where observers reported violations of the collation process in several locations. We commend INEC for complying with its guidelines on collation of results in Ondo State.
INEC, however, failed to provide the necessary support to voters with disability to enable them to exercise their civic duty independently. There was no reason, whatsoever, for this observed gap given the population of voters with disability in the State and INEC’s regular claim that it has an abundance of assistive devices in the Commission.
VOTER TURNOUT
The voter turnout in the 2024 Governorship election in Ondo State was abysmal. At about 29% when compared to the total number of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVCs) collected, which stands at 1,757,205, the turnout in this election is much lower than what was recorded four years ago during the 2020 Governorship election in the State, despite INEC distributing more than 270,000 additional PVCs over this period. This shows a high level of voter apathy. Young people were observed playing football on the roads and open spaces in the morning of the election day, confirming previous observations of decreasing citizens’ interest and participation in Nigeria’s elections. Efforts must be made to halt this trend quickly.
VOTE BUYING
The menace of vote trading continues to raise its ugly head in our election. Voters and different party agents were observed trading votes openly ranging from N20,000 to N10,000 across the 18 Local Government Areas of the State. Situation Room calls on stakeholders to work together to develop a suitable strategy, including reforms, to deal decisively with this menace.
ELECTION SECURITY
Situation Room believes that the general calm atmosphere in the pre-election, during and post-election periods, was due to the resolve of the people of Ondo State to have a peaceful election. This is commendable.
Situation Room notes that security agents deployed for the election by the Nigeria Police Force and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) conducted themselves properly at most of the polling units observed. We commend these agents for the professionalism they displayed throughout the election.
The deployment of senior Police officers to some of the collation centres at the Ward and Local Government (LG) levels also contributed to the peaceful ambience observed during the election.
However, the unwillingness of the security agents to halt or control the general open vote trading in the polling unit premises was another drawback in this election.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND CANDIDATES
The lack of seriousness by several political parties and their candidates to approach the election in a competitive manner was evident in this Governorship election. Several political parties and candidates failed to campaign for votes in the State. Instead, they opted to cross-carpet and endorse other candidates in the election.
Additionally, the internal conflict in the Labour Party over who the party’s authentic candidate for the election is, created confusion among the electorate and people of the State. INEC replaced the party’s candidate twice, including on the eve of the election, following court judgments. This incident could have been avoided if political parties had complied with the provisions of the extant laws on party primaries. Situation Room, therefore, calls on stakeholders to work together to put accountability measures in place for political parties, including criteria to be on the ballot.
CONCLUSION
The Ondo State Governorship election 2024 was generally hitch-free and showed an improvement in the performance of INEC.
Situation Room calls for strict enforcement of laws that prohibit vote trading by security agencies and reiterates its call on the National Assembly to hasten legislative actions for an Electoral Offences Commission that can address electoral offences.
INEC and the security agencies should make efforts to improve on the conduct and professionalism observed in the 2024 Ondo State Governorship election in future elections, and given different situations.
Situation Room calls for further amendments to the Constitution and Electoral Act for pre-election matters to be concluded ahead of the elections so that there is certainty in the candidacy or nominations of political parties.
Situation Room calls on its members and other civil society groups to continue to advocate for electoral accountability and ensure consistency in the quality of elections conducted in the country.
SIGNED:
Yunusa Z. Ya’u
Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
Franklin Oloniju
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
Mimidoo Achakpa
Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
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The Situation Room is made up of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) working in support of credible elections and governance in Nigeria numbering more than seventy. The Steering Committee is made up of: Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), CLEEN Foundation, Action Aid Nigeria, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Emma Ezeazu Centre for Good Governance and Accountability (formerly Alliance for Credible Elections, Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy Centre (RULAAC), Kimpact Development Initiative, Democratic Action Group (DAG), Women’s Rights to Education Programme, Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD), DIG Ebonyi, New Initiative for Social Development (NISD), Life And Peace Development Organization (LAPDO), Rural Youth Initiative, Challenged Parenthood Initiative (CPI), Centre for Health and Development in Africa (CHEDA) and Josemaria Escriva Foundation.
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