Osun Poll: FIDA Challenges INEC, Police to Prosecute Alleged Vote-buyers

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), yesterday, called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies to investigate and arrest persons suspected to have engaged in vote-buying and other electoral offences in the just concluded governorship election in Osun State.
FIDA, in a post-election statement on the poll won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Senator Ademola Adeleke, noted that the arrest and prosecution would serve as deterrence in the forthcoming 2023 general election.
Country Vice President/National President, Mrs Amina Agbaje, who signed the statement, while commending INEC for conducting a free, credible and peaceful election, said when electoral offenders were prosecuted, it would further deepen the electoral process ahead of the 2023 general election.
Part of the recommendation included the prosecution of electoral offenders reported to have committed all forms of electoral offenses in contravention to the Electoral Act 2022 (as amended) to serve as a deterrent to others.
According to FIDA, the election was though free and fair in polling units “except with the incidents of vote-buying occurring in 16% of the polling units by leading political parties between the sum of N2, 000 to N5000 respectively.”
While FIDA observed that the deployment of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machine, enhance speedy completion of the poll in most places, it lamented that about 13% of polling units visited still had the voting process ongoing after 4pm due to the late arrival of the electoral materials or malfunctioning of the BVAS machine.
“For instance at polling unit 5, ward 4, Ede North LGA, voting was observed ongoing after the hours of 4pm. Similarly, in some polling units across Irepodun LGA and polling unit 1, St Peter Primary School, Odo-Otin LGA, voting was observed ongoing even as polls ended across most polling units.
“On this outcome, we would clamour for more effective and efficient service delivery from INEC ahead of the next elections,” Mrs Agbaje