By Morris Osumili

Yiaga Africa, election Monitoring Group, has highlighted perceived lapses that could impact the outcome of Saturday Edo State governorship election.

The citizens-led civic advocacy group at a mid-day situational statement, said the uneven deployment of security personnel, resulting in some densely populated polling units having limited security presence in the election, could affect the outcome in some areas.

It observed that logistical challenges caused delays in the commencement of accreditation and voting in several polling units and expressed concern over reports of intimidation of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) officials to bypass the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in some parts of the state.

The data was gleaned from the Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) methodology to observe the ongoing election based on 300 stationary and 25 roving observers, covering a representative sample of polling units across all 18 Local Government Areas of Edo State.

It particularly referenced Akoko-Edo Local Government Area where there was report of missing results sheets in Polling Unit 1 in Ward 8, and Orhionmwon Local Government Area where there were disruptions.

It lamented invasion of polling Unit 5 in Uwessan Ward 2, Esan Central Local Government Area where political thugs allegedly chased voters from their polling unit, noting that despite the shortcomings in some areas, election began peacefully with minimal critical incidents.

Yiaga Africa noted that these infractions risk voter suppression and election manipulation during the exercise that was worsened by poor rainfall arising from poor weather condition that led to delay in voting in some parts of the State.

The group however commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and security agencies for their swift action in arresting suspected vote-buyers at polling units in Egor and Oredo Local Government Areas during the election as predicted in its pre-election statement.

It called on the commission to extend its operations to other Local Government Areas where votes are being traded for 10,000 naira per voter even in the presence of security personnel.

It further applauded the Nigeria Police for arresting and disarming political thugs with firearms on the eve of the election, contributing to a more secure election day environment.

Yiaga Mid-assessment statement was jointly endorsed by Dr. Aisha Abdullahi, chairperson of the 2024 Edo Election Mission and Samson Itodo, Executive Director, Yiaga Africa.