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Ondo guber election reflects records of ballot boxes at polling units — International observer

An international observer, International Police Chaplain Sustainable Development and Law Enforcement Inc., USA, stated on Monday that the result of the election declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) reflects the will of the people.

Speaking while presenting the assessment analysis for the off-cycle election, the mission spokesperson and Director of Administration and Organisations at the African Regional Command, Mr Oscar David, said the election was an improvement over past elections, adding that INEC has shown the world that credible elections are possible in Nigeria.

David urged candidates and political actors to resort to legal channels in case of contestation or disagreement with results in order to sustain social peace and avoid a breakdown of law and order.

According to him, the election was peaceful, transparent, credible, and successful, with minimal incidents and complaints from party agents at polling units and collation centres.

He said: “The IPCSL mission commends the people of Ondo State for their conduct and cooperation with our team members across the LGAs, political parties, and all stakeholders for creating an enabling environment for a successful election, showing patriotism and a democratic culture.

“While urging all to continue working to preserve national peace and stability to consolidate democracy and the rule of law, especially in a challenging socio-political context in the country, the mission asserts, without fear of contradiction, that the final result declared by INEC truly reflects the records of the ballot boxes at polling units. IPCSL welcomes the good collaboration between various international missions and domestic observers. Likewise, we salute the quality of exchanges and shared experiences during the mission to Ondo State.”

He recommended that INEC continue to interact with political parties and the civil society community in order to strengthen and deepen the nation’s democracy. He also emphasised the need for more intense voter education and mass sensitisation by both the electoral body and political parties.

“As mentioned in our Edo report, our mission team recommends a further review of the electoral laws and guidelines to address the challenges and incidents observed that require adequate legislation.”

“Further improvement in security strategies is needed to build more confidence and reduce voter suppression.”

Also, the mission team, headed by the Nigerian Director of Political and Democratic Affairs, Hon. Seye Oyetade, said it deployed 50 officials from its organisation to the three senatorial districts of the state while engaging and collaborating with 20 domestic observer organisations that mobilised and deployed 10 experienced individuals each.

He disclosed that a total of 200 domestic officials were sent to the 18 local government areas of the state and stated, “Our mission team observed further improvements in the mobilisation and participation of the security apparatus in the Ondo election.

“Unlike the Edo election, wherein the military was over-mobilised and seen in almost every nook and cranny, the Ondo scenario largely involved the police and Civil Defence Corps, who were visible at polling units and on the streets, with the army generally restricted to border areas and flashpoints.

“The security personnel conducted themselves professionally and did not interfere with the processes. IPCSL commends the performance of the security agencies in this election.

“Electoral officials: INEC appears to be focused on training and re-training its staff and ad hoc workers, as the Ondo election largely witnessed an improved performance in the service of electoral officials, with negligible cases of poor handling of equipment and voters by the officials.

“The BVAS functioned well, except in isolated cases, while accreditation, voting, counting, and collation exercises were generally satisfactory and acceptable to the party agents on the ground. Only in very few polling units did we observe rancour or rejection of the outcome at the point of counting.

“On voting day, our mission randomly visited over 200 polling stations across the 18 local government areas and in randomly selected wards. Most polling units opened at the official time (8:30 a.m.); some, however, were delayed in opening due to transportation logistics, as they informed us.”

He noted that 17 political parties fielded candidates for the election; however, only two were highly visible and made remarkable efforts to mobilise party agents across the polling units in all 18 LGAs of the state.

“The two parties were the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Both parties performed above average in mobilising agents and voters, while others were almost absent on voting day.”

“In terms of overall voter mobilisation, attendance and turnout at polling units varied significantly across LGAs. Some areas witnessed massive voter turnout, while others experienced notable voter apathy, which was attributed to low morale resulting from the general economic hardship in the country, coupled with a dwindling interest of citizens in political activities.”

He noted that some isolated incidents of vote trading were observed in Idanre LGA. “In Idanre, a violent incident was recorded in which a young man, who was alleged to have snatched two ballot boxes, was attacked and stabbed with broken bottles to the point of endangering his life.

“A man was caught with a large sum of money on Election Day in the Akoko area but claimed he was a cocoa trader.”

He added that in Unit 4, Ore Ward 1, in Odigbo LGA, no voters were seen up until 11:00 a.m., despite the presence and readiness of INEC officials and the availability of electoral materials, indicating very poor turnout and high voter apathy.

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