?Calls for accountability, electoral reforms

Yiaga Africa, an Election Monitoring Group, on Monday alleged that the Saturday, September 21 governorship election in Edo State was not transparent but, rather, failed the integrity test.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC) winner of the election but the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) insists that its candidate, Dr. Asue Ighodalo, won the ballot but was rigged out.

Yiaga Africa called for accountability and urgent amendment of the Electoral Act to make the electronic transmission of results compulsory.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, Chair of the 2024 Edo Election Mission and Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa in Benin.

Yiaga Africa said that there was the need for substantial electoral reforms in the electoral system to restore public confidence in it.

The group said that the call underscored the importance of transparency and adherence to the rules governing elections.

It demanded for the immediate investigation and prosecution of polling officials and collation officers involved in the alleged result manipulation and violations of result collation guidelines in the Edo election.

Yiaga Africa urged the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to promptly clarify inconsistencies in results from Oredo, Egor, Esan West, and other key local government areas.

?Clear communication from INEC will ensure that the public understands the integrity of the election outcomes.

?INEC must issue specific guidelines on how it exercises its powers to review questionable declarations and returns.

?These guidelines should detail procedures for submitting complaints, including who can submit, the format, and the timeframe for addressing concerns.

?The legal framework must incorporate the electronic transmission of results and the IReV system.

?This will legally solidify polling unit-level results uploaded on the portal, improving transparency and accountability, ? Yiaga Africa said.

Yiaga Africa, however, commended voters for demonstrating resilience and patience, particularly in the face of logistical issues and rain that delayed the opening of polls.

They noted that their participation in challenging circumstances deserved recognition.

According to Yiaga Africa, there were reports of interference during the collation process, including restricted access to accredited observers, casting doubt on the neutrality of some security personnel.

?Additionally, the disruption of result collation raises concerns about the effectiveness of security deployment.

?The inability to prevent these interferences indicates a need for better planning and execution in future elections,? the group said.

Yiaga Africa alleged that the election failed integrity test due to lack of transparency in the results collation process, leading to result manipulation.

?While other processes such as accreditation, voting, and counting were largely compliant, the compromised collation process significantly undermined the election?s overall integrity.? it said. (Adapted from a NAN report)

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