The Anambra Election Observation Hub has described the ongoing Anambra State governorship election as largely peaceful and professionally conducted, but tainted by vote buying, logistical delays, and inconsistent adherence to voting procedures in some areas.

The Hub — a coalition of civil society organisations including Yiaga Africa, The Kukah Centre, International Press Centre (IPC), Centre for Media and Society (CEMESO), Nigerian Women Trust Fund (NWTF), ElectHer, and TAF Africa — made the observations in a joint mid-day situational statement delivered in Awka on Saturday.

According to the group, 711 citizen observers were deployed across Anambra's 21 local government areas to monitor election integrity, security, inclusivity, gender participation, peacebuilding, misinformation tracking, and media safety.

"The Anambra governorship election has so far been conducted in a generally peaceful and secure environment," said Samson Itodo, Yiaga Africa's Executive Director, speaking for the coalition. "Election officials and security personnel displayed professionalism, and there was visible improvement in logistics compared to previous elections."

Despite the improvement, the group reported that only 49% of polling units had opened by 7:30 a.m. — up from 28% in 2021 and 17% in 2017. Delays in the arrival of materials and officials caused late commencement of voting in parts of Nnewi North, Ihiala, and Orumba South LGAs.

The Hub noted that essential materials, including the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), were present in all observed polling units, with accreditation and voting underway in 85% of them by 9:30 a.m.

However, it flagged procedural lapses such as failure to display BVAS accreditation counts before voting in some areas, warning that such omissions could undermine transparency.

The report expressed concern over continued incidents of vote buying and the emergence of "new and covert methods." Observers recorded cases where party agents used POS machines or collected voters' details for post-voting payments in LGAs including Orumba South, Awka North, Oyi, and Onitsha North.

"These acts undermine the integrity of the election and reinforce the need for urgent enforcement of electoral laws," the coalition stated.

Security presence was described as generally adequate, with officers of the Nigeria Police Force and FRSC maintaining order in most polling units. However, the Hub cited isolated lapses, including in Nkwelle Ezunaka, Oyi LGA, where voting began without security personnel present.

The coalition commended INEC for appointing women as presiding officers in 92.5% of polling units and deploying female security officers in 61.8%. However, it noted limited provision for priority voting for pregnant women and nursing mothers.

On disability inclusion, INEC's use of Form EC40H to track voters with disabilities was acknowledged as progress, though the absence of assistive tools such as braille ballot guides and magnifiers was noted in some areas.

Observers reported only one minor case of interference involving a journalist from UNIZIK FM, who was temporarily stopped from filming but later allowed to continue after clarification.

The Hub urged voters yet to cast their ballots to do so peacefully before polls close, while calling on INEC to ensure proper result collation and transparency through the timely upload of results to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV).

It also advised security agencies to sustain visible presence, particularly in high-risk LGAs such as Ihiala and Idemili North, and called for stronger deterrence against vote buying and better validation of disability data for future elections.

"We commend the efforts of INEC, security agencies, and the electorate and urge all stakeholders to remain vigilant as counting and collation continue," the coalition said.

The Election Observation Hub's activities are supported by the European Union under the EU Support for Democratic Governance Project (EU-SDGN). (BusinessDay)