Ondo Elections: NGO Says No Evidence in State Interference

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

A non-governmental organi-sation, Impact Development Initiative, which advances good governance and democratic rights in Nigeria, has said there was no evidence to suggest direct state interference in the November 16 Ondo State governorship election.

Describing the poll as partially free and fair, the organisation in its final statement on the election said it was conducted with notable efforts toward transparency and monitoring.

Speaking at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, KDI Team Lead, Bukola Idowu, who said the organisation deployed 3,362 trained observers on the 203 wards of the state, said the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) demon-strated logistical efficiency and transparent communication of procedures.

Noting that this contributed to a well organised election and timely release of results on the INEC Results Viewing Portal, Idowu further said the poll saw commendable efforts to ensure equal and secret suffrage with no reported cases of voter discrimination.

“No evidence suggested direct interference by the state during the election, and INEC’s operations were conducted independently.

“However, pre-election protests calling for the removal of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) over alleged bias towards a candidate highlighted public concerns about potential partisanship within the Election Management Body (EMB).

“Such an allegation, though not proven, continues to deepen the negative perception against INEC. Knowing fully well that there have been public outcries against the appointment of some of the leadership team of INEC recently,” Idowu said.

While lamenting the widespread cases of vote buying during the poll, he, however, observed that most polling officials demonstrated professionalism and timeliness in their duties.

Idowu said the organisation also reported a couple of voter registration discrepancies, over voting, and bypassing Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in certain areas indicating systemic breaches.

The organisation called for the establishment of mobile courts on election day to swiftly address cases of vote-buying, intimidation, and other violations.

It also asked the government to empower anti-graft agencies to collaborate more actively with INEC in monitoring and prosecuting electoral offences.