Kimpact Post-Election Report Highlights 6.04% Inflation in INEC-Declared Results

'Seun Ibukun-Oni, Abuja 

DAILY COURIER - Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI) has issued a post-election assessment of the 2024 Edo State governorship election, revealing significant concerns about the integrity of the electoral process. The off-cycle election, held on September 21, 2024, saw KDI deploying 431 trained observers across the state to monitor critical aspects of the process, including ballot integrity, security, and vote manipulation. In a key finding, KDI's analysis identified an inflation of 6.04% in the results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), prompting calls for further scrutiny.

Election Day Overview

Despite pre-election tensions, KDI’s report indicated that election day was largely peaceful, with security forces ensuring adequate protection at most polling units. However, isolated incidents of violence occurred in areas such as Esan Central and Ovia Southwest LGAs, and in collation centers across Oredo, Egor, and Ikpoba-Okha LGAs. Fortunately, no casualties were reported.

The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned well overall, with minimal technical glitches. By 7:22 PM on election day, 92% of results had been uploaded to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), signaling progress in transparency efforts. However, despite these positive developments, several challenges marred the election process.

Challenges and Concerns

Among the challenges highlighted in KDI’s report was the late commencement of polls, particularly in rural areas like Esan West and Owan West LGAs, where adverse weather conditions caused delays in the delivery of election materials. This resulted in lower voter turnout in some districts.

Vote buying emerged as a widespread issue, with reports from all three senatorial districts revealing inducements ranging from ₦1,000 to ₦10,000 offered to voters at polling units in Akoko Edo, Orhionmwon, and Esan West LGAs. KDI’s observers noted multiple instances of blatant vote trading, undermining the integrity of the election.

The misuse of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) was another problem, as some individuals attempted to vote using someone else’s PVC, while others were caught with fake cards. In several cases, INEC officials reportedly allowed unverified voters to cast ballots, raising questions about the efficacy of the voter identification process.

The issue of electoral violence and voter intimidation also featured prominently, with KDI receiving over 1,200 reports of incidents, including 17 cases directly involving violence. Ballot box snatching in Etsako Central and Egor LGAs, coupled with intimidation by political party agents, further compromised the fairness of the election.

Vote Inflation and Integrity Issues

One of the most concerning findings in KDI’s post-election assessment was the inflation of 6.04% in the results declared by INEC. The organization’s analysis revealed discrepancies in vote counts at several polling units, suggesting potential human errors or system failures in the result collation process. This inflation, along with 13,275 rejected votes—a 3.43% increase from the 2020 governorship election—called into question the overall integrity of the declared results.

KDI recommended a thorough audit of the ballots to determine whether the adverse weather conditions that affected some polling units contributed to the high number of rejected votes.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In light of these findings, KDI urged INEC to take immediate steps to address logistical issues, such as the delayed arrival of election materials, and to investigate the inflation in declared results. The organization also called for intensified efforts to combat vote buying, which remains a pervasive issue in Nigerian elections. Additionally, KDI recommended better training for ad-hoc election staff to minimize errors during the voting and collation processes.

The 2024 Edo State governorship election, while showing progress in certain areas, also exposed critical weaknesses that need to be addressed to safeguard the credibility of future elections. KDI’s detailed assessment serves as a crucial roadmap for strengthening Nigeria’s democratic processes and ensuring electoral accountability.