…Commends, INEC, Security officials and prays for a replication in 2023 general elections.
By Utitofon Idara.
The Centre for Democracy and Development – Election Analysis Centre (CDD-EAC) has released a post election statement on finding of the general conduct of the elections of the Osun which saw Ademola Adeleke winning the keenly contested gubernatorial seat.
It noted that “Despite the initial apprehension about the possibility of violent disruption of the election, the process turned out to be peaceful. Like the Ekiti State governorship election before it, the Osun poll witnessed impressive voter enthusiasm”
“This post-election statement provides updates on an earlier Interim Statement on key processes and procedures in the election. CDD-EAC observes that the post-election environment has remained calm, peaceful and free of any agitations following the declaration of the results by the State Collation Officer appointed by INEC”.
“According to the results as declared by the INEC State Collation Officer, Senator Ademola Adeleke of the PDP polled 403,371 votes (51.8%) to defeat his closest challenger, Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the APC, who polled 375,027 votes (48.2%)”
in a signed statement by Professor Adele Jinadu, Chair, CDD-EAC , ” CDD-EAC calls on all political actors in Osun State to maintain the peaceful and calm disposition during the post-election period”
” It also calls on all contestants to embrace the spirit of true sportsmanship, which entails being graceful in defeat, and exhibiting magnanimity in victory. Democracy grows with such virtues”
. On the basis of data received from CDD-EAC field observers, it confirms that the collation process leading to the declaration of the Governorship election results by INEC, was smooth and free of hitches. There was significant improvement in INEC’s election logistics and poll opening time and the conduct of INEC officials. For example, critical materials were promptly distributed. INEC indicates that 827,218 voters were accredited out of 1,952,387 registered voters for the election, representing a 42.37% turnout. This is an improvement over the 36.74% voter turnout recorded in the Ekiti 2022 governorship election, and is a marginal improvement over the voter turnout of 41.34% recorded in the 2018 Osun governorship election.
On INEC Deployment, Junaidu noted that In most of the polling units observed by CDD-EAC observers across the 30 Local Areas (LGAs), INEC officials arrived early, some as early as 6:32 am, and started setting up their workspaces and removing posters of political parties.
“Only a few polling units reported late arrival of critical election materials. One of those isolated cases was in Ward 6, polling unit 6, Osun Ila where only 490 ballot papers were provided instead of 494 for accredited voters. However, INEC officials successfully resolved this issue to the satisfaction of the party agents”.
“INEC’s logistics and preparations as well as the conduct of security agents represent a marked improvement on the June 18 Ekiti State Governorship election”.
The statement stressed that on the use of technology, the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was successful in the Osun State Governorship election.
“As at 6:00pm, CDD-EAC observed that 84.3% of polling units covered had transmitted their results via BVAS. Likewise, the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) was in full operation for the uploading of results in most of the polling units. At about 10:00pm, 99.7% of the results were available on the IReV. This level of compliance is commendable and needs to be encouraged for future elections”
“With a few exemptions, BVAS worked perfectly in almost all the polling units across the 30 local government areas of the state. An important observation from the Osun election was the difficulty of the BVAS in capturing and accrediting the elderly. It is recalled that this was the case in the Ekiti election where it either worked after several trials and waiting by the elderly or did not work at all”.
On Vote Buying issues, “CDD-EAC observers reported discreet vote-buying in the Osun State election in contrast with the brazen vote buying in the Ekiti State recent elections because of the presence of watchful anti-graft security personnel”.
While commending, the conduct of Security Officials “CDD-EAC observers note with satisfaction the good conduct of security personnel in the election, who not only arrived at their duty posts on time but also generally discharged their responsibilities professionally”.
Speaking about inclusivity, “CDD-EAC observers reported substantial compliance with the provision for people with
special needs, such as pregnant women and elderly voters, to cast their ballots first. In line
with INEC guidelines, poll officials prioritised the elderly, pregnant women and the disabled inmost of the polling units”.
“CDD-EAC also observed that INEC provided equipment including braille ballot guides and magnifying glasses to assist voters with disabilities to cast their votes. However, 13.5% of polling units observed did not make proper arrangements for voters with disabilities. CDD-EAC notes poor women representation given only six women deputy governorship candidates and no female governorship candidate in the election”.
The organization also applauds the political parties, which signed the Peace Accord as a mark of commitment to violence-free elections. This commitment apparently raised voter confidence about their security and safety during the polls”.
“However, there remain several concerns relating to the conduct of political actors, and the effects of their actions on the electoral process. Of particular note, are the lack of internal party democracy, the unprincipled cross-carpeting of politicians from one party to the other, many litigations to disrupt the smooth working of the process and the attempts to buy voters instead of campaigning to win votes on the basis of issues. CDD-EAC is of the view that the political parties need to make efforts to address these concerns as the country moves towards the general elections next
year”.
On electoral misconduct, the organization
In its interim statement, had expressed concern about the possibility of violence,
money politics and misuse of incumbency power that could affect the credibility of the
election, which were on display in the election though on a small scale.
CDD-EAC Fake News Hub for the July 16, Osun State Governorship election closely
monitored online and offline spaces with the objective of tracking and fact-checking fake
news and misinformation. A number of fake news stories, misleading captions for images,
and the sharing of dead online links were used by partisan actors to mislead voters or to
possibly depress the vote in areas in which the political opposition is perceived to have some
strengths”.
“Our fact-checkers have also documented claims and counter-claims by political actors over allegations of vote buying. Using online tools, and a range of verification techniques, CDD-EAC fact-checkers worked independently to fact-check fake news and misinformation capable of undermining voter confidence”.
“One of the major fake news stories, which trended on Election Day, was the
claim that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Ademola Adeleke had been
sacked by a court. CDD-EAC fact checkers verified and found this claim to be false”.
“Our fact-checkers also spotted a claim that one of the major opposition parties’
candidates was asking voters to swear an oath that voters voted for him before he would paythem. CDD-EAC fact-checkers found nothing on the circulated image to lend credence to the claim. Our fact-checkers also noted that the image, which was circulated to make the claim, was taken at the point the candidate was casting his vote”.
Fact checkers at our fake news
hub also spotted a claim circulating online that the APC Presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu was on the ballot in the Osun State Governorship election. This claim was confirmedto be false”.
The statement concluded that although the post-election atmosphere in Osun state has been generally peaceful and calm,
CDD-EAC urges all key actors, notably, the political actors to continue to maintain peace”.
“From Ekiti to Osun, INEC alongside other key election stakeholders have collaborated to
record significant improvements in the conduct of elections. CDD-EAC urges the Commission and all the stakeholders to maintain and consolidate their cordial working
relationship for the conduct of future elections”.
“The collaboration between INEC and other stakeholders, especially Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and security agents, including anti-graft agencies such as the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices
and other related Offences Commission (ICPC) also contributed to the successful outcomeof the Osun election”
“As Nigeria marches towards the highly anticipated 2023 general elections, all stakeholders must sustain the synergies, which have contributed to the vast improvements recorded in Osun and Ekiti States. The organization hopes to see the improvements recorded in the recent election pasts replicated in the conduct of the 2023 general elections”.
