An election monitoring group, YIAGA Africa, has released a pre-election observation report on Osun Governorship Poll slated for July 16.
The group presented the report on Wednesday, in Osogbo, painting a picture of the pre-election environment of the 30 Local Government Areas in the state.
According to the group, the pre-election report contained findings of 32 Long Term Observers (LTO) deployed in April this year to the 30 LGAs.
While speaking at the presentation, Cynthia Mbamalu, YIAGA Africa’s Director of Programmes, said the findings of the Long Term Observers (LTO) identified both negative and positive factors that could affect the election.
She said if the negative factors were not urgently addressed, they had the potential to create more problems that could mar the electoral process.
She noted that political thuggery, vote merchandising, the desperation of candidates and the low rate of PVC collection were some of the emerging threats to the upcoming election.
Her words: “With barely 10 days to the Osun Governorship election, the political and security atmosphere has remained tensely unpredictable with the security agency describing every Local Government Area as a potential flashpoint.
” YIAGA Africa’s pre-election reports have revealed the activities of cultists and political thugs in some local government areas (LGA) as capable of threatening the peaceful and credible conduct of the election, if not contained.
“In addition to this threat, there are also attempts by some political mercenaries to manipulate the process right from the pre-election stage”.
Positive Observations
Mbamalu said that despite the concerns listed above, it was heartwarming to record progress made by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in voter education, training of ad-hoc staff, deployment of non-sensitive materials and sticking to the electoral timeline.
The report, which commended INEC for stepping down PVC collection from the LGA level to the ward level for easier distribution, also lauded it for conducting a mock BVAS accreditation ahead of the election.
The report also commended the police for the arrest of some political thugs in the state recently, noting that the task of securing citizens, electoral materials and all other stakeholders rested on the security agencies.
Recommendations of the report
While speaking about the recommendations of the report, Ezenwa Nwagwu, a board member of YIAGA Africa, said all stakeholders must work to improve the role they play in the electoral process.
He said nothing should be left to chance and all identified threats to the process should be addressed.
The report called on INEC to improve its PVC collection strategy and intensify campaigns against vote trading. It also urged security agencies to ensure neutrality and arrest as well as prosecute electoral offenders.
The report further advised political parties to refrain from all forms of voter inducement while engaging in Issue-based campaigns.
It called on the media to ensure fair coverage of all political parties/candidates and ensure targeted campaigns to promote inclusiveness, particularly among women, youths and PLWDs.
The report finally urged all citizens to collect their PVCs for active participation in the electoral process, while shunning all forms of inducement by politicians.
Dominica Nwabufo
