The Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa, CDD-West Africa, through its Election Analysis Centre, EAC, has raised concerns over issues of overvoting and blurry results in the recently concluded 21 September 2024 Edo State governorship election.
Chairman of CDD’s Election Analysis Centre, Adele Jinadu who was speaking during a post-election press Conference on Tuesday in Abuja, commended the largely peaceful conduct of the election but noted several irregularities that marred the process.
According to Jinadu observers deployed across the state flagged instances of overvoting, especially in Etsako East Local Government Area. In one specific case at the Weppa Registration Area, the number of votes cast for the All Progressives Congress, APC, exceeded the accredited number of voters. Despite 213 accredited voters, the APC recorded 352 votes. Similar discrepancies were observed in other polling units within the same area.
Additionally, CDD-EAC observers reported blurry result uploads to the Independent National Electoral Commission,INEC, Result Viewing Portal, iReV. This issue was highlighted in polling units in Ovia North-East LGA, where uploaded results from Ozolua Primary School II were difficult to verify.
The organization expressed concerns that such irregularities, if not properly addressed, could undermine the credibility of the election.
The CDD urged INEC to thoroughly review these discrepancies and take necessary actions to rectify the anomalies. The group also called for enhanced voter education and improved oversight during future elections to prevent similar occurrences.
Despite these challenges, the CDD-EAC acknowledged that the election day was generally peaceful, with minimal reports of violence. The use of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, was largely successful, and most election results were uploaded on time to the iReV platform. However, the group emphasized the need for INEC to improve its crisis communication strategy to handle disruptions and prevent misinformation during future elections.
The CDD also recommended that INEC collaborate more closely with weather agencies like NiMET to safeguard election materials from rain, as downpours affected some polling units in the state.
As the electoral process moves into the post-election phase, the CDD-EAC called on all stakeholders to respect the rule of law and peacefully resolve any disputes over the election results.
