Election monitoring organizations have raised concerns about the transparency surrounding the ongoing collation of results in the Edo State governorship election. They also call on Nigerian security agencies to fulfill their duty to ensure security without inflaming tensions.
The concerned groups include the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room, YIAGA Africa, Kimpact Development Initiative, Nigerian Women Trust Fund, ElectHER, and TAF Africa.
In a joint statement released on Sunday, the undersigned accredited civil society organizations monitoring the 2024 Edo governorship elections declared, “We express our concern regarding the transparency of the current results collation process being conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”
“We further call on security agencies to refrain from interference in the collation process and to ensure that accredited party agents, the media, and election observers are granted full access to collation centers.
“We wish to emphasize that the role of security agencies in the election is to safeguard the process and not to create a situation that will undermine the transparency of the process and thus impact negatively on the credibility of the outcome of the election.
“Reports of disruptions at ward and local government collation centers, including intimidation of INEC officials and attempts to collate results contrary to the provisions of the Electoral Act and INEC guidelines, raise significant concerns about the credibility of the results collation process.
“We acknowledge INEC’s recent statement recognizing reports of result mutilation and its commitment to investigate and address any proven violations.”
The groups urged INEC to review declarations and returns where results were not voluntarily declared.
“In light of this, we urge INEC to invoke its powers under Section 65 of the Electoral Act 2022 to review any declarations and returns where results were not declared voluntarily or violated provisions of the electoral act and INEC regulations, and guidelines,” the groups said.
The Edo governorship election has been shrouded in controversy, sparking heated debates and concerns among stakeholders.
Numerous allegations have surfaced, including claims of foul play, deliberate attempts to manipulate the electoral process, and biases that potentially undermine the integrity of the polls.
