Yiaga Africa Maintains Criticism of Edo Governorship Election, Calls for Review

 

Yiaga Africa, a civil society organization, has reaffirmed its position regarding the recently concluded off-cycle governorship election in Edo State, asserting that the election failed to meet critical integrity standards. The group expressed its concerns during a post-election meeting with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and media partners in Benin City on Thursday.

Paul James, Yiaga Africa's Program Officer, highlighted issues surrounding the results from several local government areas, specifically citing Egor, Oredo, Esan West, and Etsako West, where the group observed manipulations during the collation process.

Although James acknowledged that the electoral process was generally peaceful, he stated that discrepancies between the results submitted by observers and those posted on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)'s portal indicated tampering during collation. According to James, these manipulations have cast doubt on the credibility of the election outcome.

"We observed inflation of results in some local governments that contradict what was reported by observers and submitted by INEC," James explained. He further mentioned that disruptions at collation centers in key areas, including instances of gunfire and the use of tear gas, created opportunities for the manipulation of results.

Yiaga Africa has called on INEC to invoke Section 65 of the Electoral Act, allowing for a review of results declared under questionable circumstances. James urged the commission to conduct an audit of the disputed areas in the interest of transparency, though he acknowledged that the seven-day window for such a review has passed, leaving the matter to the courts.

Despite compliance with key voting processes, James reiterated that the integrity of the election was compromised during the collation stage, and he urged INEC to address these concerns to restore public trust in the electoral process.