The United States Mission in Nigeria has called for transparency and due process in the Edo election appeal process, as these are crucial to maintaining public confidence in any democratic system.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Richard Mills, while reacting to the 2024 Edo and Ondo Governorship Election BIP Report in a statement posted on the US Mission Nigeria X handle (@USinNigeria), reiterated his statement of 24 September that transparency and due process are essential to maintaining public confidence in any democratic system.
“The United States reaffirms our commitment to supporting free, fair, transparent, and credible elections in Nigeria and will continue to monitor the situation closely.”
“The US Mission in Nigeria is following the Edo election appeal process closely, particularly given civil society’s concerns about critical issues related to the election, such as ‘serious lapses in the collation process’ that were observed.”
The key findings in the 2024 Edo and Ondo Governorship Election BIP Report, conducted by the Civil Society Organisation (CSO), Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), presented a detailed assessment of the electoral process, focusing on the accuracy of election result management, transparency in result transmission, and overall electoral integrity.
Using data from polling units, state collation centres, and the INEC Results Viewing (IReV) portal, the study highlighted significant trends, discrepancies, and areas for reform to strengthen Nigeria’s electoral process.
One of the most striking findings of the study was the persistent mismatch in the number of registered voters across multiple polling units.
In Edo State, inconsistencies were found in 141 polling units, while in Ondo, the same issue was observed in 87 polling units.
These discrepancies extended beyond individual polling stations to the final collation centres, where the total number of registered voters recorded was significantly different from INEC’s pre-election figures.
Edo State recorded a shortfall of 18,340 voters at the final collation stage, while Ondo State had a discrepancy of 1,926 voters.
Despite the persistence of these mismatches, Ondo demonstrated notable progress compared to the 2020 elections, reducing its discrepancies by 41%.
In contrast, Edo State showed only a marginal improvement of 7.2%, raising concerns about the effectiveness of electoral data management in the state. Another critical issue uncovered was the surge in arithmetic errors, particularly in Edo State.
The number of arithmetic inconsistencies in election result computation skyrocketed from 150 cases in 2020 to 426 in 2024, marking a 184% increase. This dramatic rise indicates serious lapses in the collation process and highlights the need for stricter verification mechanisms. Ondo State, on the other hand, showed a commendable reduction in arithmetic errors, improving by 69% compared to the previous election cycle. The contrast between the two states demonstrates that, while improvements are possible, Edo’s situation suggests a worrying decline in result accuracy.
The issue of mismatch between accredited voters and total votes cast was another major finding, with a significant number of votes unaccounted for in both states. In Ondo, 12,932 ballots were unaccounted for, while Edo recorded a far higher number, with 29,053 ballots unaccounted for at the polling unit level. Even after the collation process was completed, Edo still had 20,167 unaccounted ballots, while Ondo had 1,899 unaccounted ballots.
The stark difference between the two states is concerning, particularly as Edo’s unaccounted ballot figures increased by 131% compared to 2020, while Ondo managed to improve ballot accountability by reducing unaccounted ballots by 70%. This raises questions about the administration of elections in Edo and suggests potential gaps in oversight and transparency.
Overvoting also emerged as a significant problem, with inflated numbers recorded at polling units. Edo State had overvoting in 382 polling units, with a total of 8,887 excess votes, while Ondo recorded overvoting in 183 polling units, amounting to 4,045 excess votes.
These excess votes were at the state collation centre, suggesting that figures may have been reconciled at the ward or local government level before reaching the final tally.
Further inconsistencies were observed between the IReV portal and the official state collation reports.
In Edo State, IReV recorded 22 instances of Form EC40G uploads, indicating that elections were either cancelled or not held in specific polling units across 11 local government areas.
However, at the state collation centre, only three local government collation officers acknowledged these cancelled elections, leaving eight LGAs unaccounted for in official statements.
A similar pattern was observed in Ondo State, where IReV recorded 19 instances of Form EC40G uploads across seven LGAs, confirming that elections were either annulled or not conducted in certain polling units.
However, only Okitipupa LGA acknowledged election annulments at the collation centre, raising concerns about transparency and accountability in the electoral process.
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