CDD ELECTION ANALYSIS CENTRE (EAC)
SECOND PRELIMINARY STATEMENT ON THE CONDUCT OF JUNE 18, 2022 EKITI STATE GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION
With polls coming to a close across the 16 Local Government Areas (LGA) in the June 18, 2022 Ekiti State Governorship election, the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) through its Election Analysis Centre (EAC) continues to observe the election to ascertain that it is free, fair, credible and that it reflects the express wishes of the Ekiti State electorate. CDD-EAC deployed 205 trained and accredited observers who are currently collecting data on key processes in the election. CDD-EAC Fake News Hub has intensified its tracking and fact-checking of misinformation and disinformation capable of undermining the credibility of the election. This second Preliminary Statement outlines the main findings from the data received from field observers at the close of polling.
General Atmosphere of the Election
Reports from CDD field observers indicate that the general atmosphere in which the election is being conducted continues to be peaceful; CDD-EAC expects that the counting and collation process would proceed smoothly without incidents of violence or disruption of the process.
INEC Management of the Election
CDD-EAC updated data on the conduct of the election shows some progress recorded in the administration of the polls. However, there remains several areas of concerns, which call for stronger management of elections. Data from the areas covered by our observers indicate that 86 percent of INEC officials had arrived at their polling units by 8:30am. Data from CDD-EAC Electronic Observer Platform further showed that 74 percent of INEC poll officials addressed voters before the 8:30am official time of poll opening.
CDD-EAC observer reports showed that by 8:30am, 64 percent of polling units visited had opened, and between 8:30 and 9:30, another 29% had opened. The data indicate that 93 percent of the Polling Units in the areas observed had started voting by 9:30am.
CDD-EAC observers also reported a significant increase in the number of female INEC officials, with the data showing that eight polling units had poll officials who were exclusively female. The CDD-EAC data further showed that while four Polling Units had no female at all, all the others had both male and female INEC officials present. In terms of availability of important election materials, CDD-EAC data indicate that in at least 83 percent of polling units critical election materials like ballot papers, BVAS devices, results sheets, ballot boxes and the voter register were available for the conduct of the election. In most of the polling units, CDD-EAC observers did not see or report any form of campaigning. However, in 11.3 percent of polling units visited, campaigns and display of campaign materials were reported.
Party Agents
CDD-EAC data showed all polling units reported the presence of at least one party agent. However in Polling Unit 003, Ward 06 in Ekiti West LGA, only one party had an agent.
BVAS
CDD-EAC data showed that in all 168 polling units that were visited, BVAS was available. However, in polling unit 010 Ward 10, in Irepodun/Ifelodun LGA, there was no BVAS at the time when poll was expected to commence. The CDD-EAC data point to a high usage of the BVAS, with 88% of polling units visited reporting effective usage. Although there were hitches in very few locations, where our observers noted that some voters could not be accredited. An instance is in Ifelodun, where elderly voters could not be accredited and were told to return in the afternoon. This data corroborates the findings of 82% of CDD-EAC observers who rated the efficiency of the BVAS as either “very good or excellent.” In the 31 reported cases where the BVAS malfunctioned, 71 percent of those cases were resolved within an hour.
On the average therefore, CDD-EAC data indicated that it took around 2.4 minutes for voters to be processed through the BVAS. In 45 percent of the cases, voters were accredited in two minutes or less, while in 87 percent of the cases each voter was accredited within 4 minutes. However, while most voters were authenticated by BVAS, there were isolated instances of non-authentication. CDD-EAC observers reported a worrisome situation in which some voters were allowed to cast their ballot without being authenticated by the BVAS. This constitutes a flagrant violation of the Electoral Act 2022. CDD-EAC recorded 11 of such cases where voters were not authenticated by the BVAS, but were allowed to cast ballots which took place in Ado-Ekiti, Emure, Ekiti East, Ekiti West, Ijero, Ikere, Irepodun/Ifelodun and Ise/Orun.
Inclusion in the Election
Some polling units (24.2 percent) were not accessible to voters with disabilities, while only 24.1% of polling units visited made provision for visually impaired voters by providing braille ballot guides and magnifying glasses.
Vote Buying And Patterns of Corruption in the Election
CDD-EAC observers documented 41 instances of vote buying and selling at Polling Units. Observer data showed incidents of vote buying and selling in LGAs like Ado-Ekiti, Ijero, Ikole Irepodun/Ifelodun, Ise/Orun and Moba. One of the observable patterns of vote buying was the collection of cash in brown envelopes, which was apparently meant to disguise the content of the envelopes in order to avoid arrest by the anti-corruption agencies. CDD-EAC observers also documented instances where young voters openly displayed the cash given to them to buy their votes. These anomalies confirm CDD-EAC observation in the pre-election period that the ongoing strike by universities has grounded the local economy. The situation has in turn influenced a number of young voters to perceive the election as an opportunity to solve their economic challenges by accepting inducement from political actors. However, CDD-EAC commends the arrest of some political actors who were alleged to be involved in vote buying in the course of the election. CDD-EAC calls for a thorough investigation of these persons, and their subsequent prosecution, if found culpable.
Fake News
CDD-EAC Fake News Hub tracked and fact-checked a number of fake news and misinformation trending on Election Day. A major trending item was the purported withdrawal letter of the SDP candidate Segun Oni, and his endorsement of the PDP candidate, which circulated across social media. This claim was subsequently confirmed to be ‘false’. Regrettably, this might be cited by the party as a reason for any poor performance. Another claim on Twitter was that 9 million voters were expected to vote in the Ekiti 2022 gubernatorial election. This claim was checked by CDD-EAC fact checkers, who returned a verdict of “false” for the claim. CDD checks further showed that there are 988,923 voters registered by INEC for the Ekiti Governorship election. Another fake news was tracked relating to claims that in Ido/Osi soldiers were preventing voters from going to their polling units. CDD-EAC fact checkers verified this claim from field observers and found it to be false. Similarly in Ikole polling unit 8, Ward 10, CDD-EAC fact-checkers tracked a claim that INEC officials were addressing voters in Yoruba only because they can’t speak English. This claim was also checked and found to be false, as it was verified that INEC officials spoke to voters in both English and Yoruba.
Conclusion
CDD-EAC will continue to keep a close watch on the election up till the point of vote counting, collation and declaration of results. Further updates on findings will be provided at the end of exercise.
Signed:
Professor Adele Jinadu, Chair, CDD-EAC
