-Issued in Akure at 12:30pm on Friday, 15th November 2024
INTRODUCTION
The Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room has been observing the process of the 2024 Ondo State Governorship election scheduled for Saturday, 16th November 2024. The Situation Room and its partner organisations have deployed 1000 trained and accredited observers and will crowdsource voters’ observation of the election using technology. This is aimed at ensuring that the election is conducted in conformity with the 2022 Electoral Act and INEC guidelines and that the process guarantees a fair, inclusive and credible outcome.
In the build-up to this election, Situation Room embarked on a series of activities and engagements with relevant stakeholders. These included dialogue sessions with the electoral management body, political parties, security agencies and civic groups from Ondo State as well as a governorship debate that provided an opportunity for candidates to answer questions regarding their manifesto, enabling voters to assess the candidates based on communal issues.
Situation Room notes with some levels of caution and optimism, the generally calm atmosphere pervading the election environment and acknowledges that it vastly differs from the tension-generating environment of past elections in the State. Situation Room hopes that this positive trend will endure till the end of the election process and beyond. However, this positive state of affairs does not obviate the existence of pockets of incidents and breakout of low-key political disagreements in the State.
In particular, Situation Room notes the intolerance shown by supporters of some of the contending parties with regard to the forceful removal and destruction of rivals’ advertising boards and posters. We, therefore, caution against such behaviours of intolerance.
Given the continuous fall in voter turnout in recent elections, stakeholders should intensify voter education efforts, particularly at the last minute, to combat voter apathy and ensure that citizens understand the importance of their participation in this election.
Following our preliminary assessment, we wish to make specific comments on the following issues:
OBSERVATIONS
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
INEC plays a pivotal role in ensuring the credibility of this election. While we commend the assurances provided by the Resident Electoral Commissioner regarding INEC’s preparedness, it is vital to note the generally acknowledged lapses in the last Governorship election held in Edo State. It is gratifying to note INEC’s promise to learn from the lessons gathered from the Edo election. We hope that INEC will show the willingness and capacity to live up to that promise.
Timely Opening of Polling Units and Election Logistics: INEC should ensure that polling units open on time, as any delay can disenfranchise voters and undermine the credibility of the process. Inefficient logistics, such as election officials arriving late or being misdirected, have hampered previous elections. INEC must ensure vehicles and personnel are adequately briefed on their routes to avoid delays. INEC should also ensure that materials already deployed to the RACs and Super RACs are moved to the polling units on time.
BVAS Functionality: The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) is expected to function optimally based on the report from the Mock test. INEC must ensure that the trained personnel are readily available to handle technical issues swiftly, ensuring that voters are not disenfranchised due to faulty equipment.
Priority Voting for Voters with Disability and Vulnerable Persons: The Situation Room encourages INEC to ensure that people with disability and other vulnerable persons like pregnant women and the aged are accorded priority attention at polling units and ensure assistive materials are effectively utilized.
Collation Process: INEC must ensure that the collation process is transparent and venues are made accessible to observers and fully lit to avoid the incidents that happened in the Edo election where collation of results in some wards was done in darkness or relocated to the local government centres. INEC must safeguard the sanctity of the election results at all levels of the collation process.
Security Agencies
We appreciate the assurances of the Nigeria Police Force, as the lead election security agency, in providing adequate security for the election. Based on our preliminary observations, we call on the Security agencies to take the following into consideration:
Visibility without Intimidation: While a high level of security deployment is essential to deter breach of electoral peace, the presence of security forces must not be seen as intimidating to voters. Excessive displays of force can contribute to an atmosphere of fear and suppress voter turnout.
Consistency in Deployment: In past elections, we observed that security deployment has been uneven, with more officers concentrated in urban areas, leaving rural communities under-secured. The deployment must be evenly spread across both urban and rural areas and strategically to prevent possible disruptions.
Professionalism and Accountability: The police and other security agencies should maintain impartiality throughout the electoral process. Security lapses in previous elections, despite promises of improved professionalism, have undermined public trust. We urge the police to ensure their officers uphold the law without bias, and that electoral activities proceed without any interference from the security agencies.
Logistics and Welfare: We urge security agencies to ensure that officers deployed for the election are provided with adequate transportation and timely welfare to enable them to perform their duties effectively. Relying solely on INEC provisions has been problematic in the past. This must not resurface in this election.
Protection of Polling Units and Collation Centres: Adequate security must be provided at all polling units, collation centres, and for the transportation of election materials. We equally call on the security agencies to be vigilant while manning the entry points to polling units to apprehend would-be hoodlums commissioned to disrupt the election process. We insist on transparency during collation, and any form of exclusion of accredited agents and observers must be avoided to ensure trust in the process.
Political Parties
We note with concern the poor voter mobilization and campaigns by political parties ahead of this election. This had become a re-occurring issue in every election in the country. Of utmost concern is the trend of candidates and their political parties “stepping down” and endorsing an opponent at the last minute of the election. In just 48 hours before the election, there are reports that 3 political parties have stepped down and endorsed one of the major candidates in this election. This calls for an electoral reform that places a greater burden of responsibility and accountability on political parties.
Vote Buying: Political parties must avoid engaging in any form of electoral malpractice, particularly vote buying. Such activities undermine the credibility of the election and can erode public trust in elections.
CONCLUSION
The role of the media in the electoral process as provided in our body of laws is important. The Media now have the extra responsibility of combatting fake news and disinformation whenever they raise their ugly heads in this election. The media also have a duty to promote peace and stability as well as educate citizens about the election.
Situation Room calls on all eligible voters to come out and exercise their civic duty peacefully on election day. We wish to remind Ondo voters that selling of votes is illegal and undermines the development of the State. Voters must resist the temptation to exchange their votes for money or other inducements, as their future welfare and the quality of governance depend on the choices they make.
Elections in Ondo State have previously been fraught with tension, but we remain hopeful that this governorship election will mark a departure from past fears and irregularities.
We call on all stakeholders to abide by the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC’s Guidelines to deliver a fair, inclusive and credible election. We also call on INEC and Security Agencies to ensure that observers have full access to the Collation Centres.
The Situation Room and other independent observers are committed to ensuring that the will of Ondo voters is respected. We will continue to observe and report on the process to ensure accountability at every stage.
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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