June 22, (THEWILL) — Despite reports by election observers that the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on Saturday was smooth and peaceful across the state, allegations of vote-buying, voter – intimidation and other malpractices trailed the exercise.
For example, addressing journalists, the candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Dare Bejide, alleged that vote-buying took place at Oke Adura Polling Unit, his polling unit, in Ekiti South West Local Government Area, after casting his ballot. He accused members of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, of distributing cash to voters during the exercise.
There were complaints in some places about the BVAS machine not functioning and party agents telling voters whom to vote, which is quite the wrong thing to do in an election that is expected supposed to be credible, free and fair.
Allegations of inducement also surfaced in some social media platforms, with some voters claiming they received money or other forms of incentives in exchange for support during the election.
The Chairman of the African Action Congress (AAC) in Ekiti State, Makinde Folorunso, reportedly rejected the outcome of the election, citing what he described as widespread electoral irregularities.
In a statement issued after the poll, Folorunso alleged that the election was compromised by vote-buying and intimidation of opposition supporters.
Also reacting, the Co-Convener of the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room and Head of Programmes and Policy at Connected Development (CODE), Celestine Okwudili Odo, said observers recorded what appeared to be a shift in the methods used to influence voters.
In terms of vote buying, he noted, there was a paradigm shift in a sense that the inducers moved away from offering cash to voters. Instead, they gave out different kinds of goods, such as handbags and clothing materials.
The EU-SDGN Election Observation Hub and Kimpact Development Initiative (KDI), which deployed hundreds of observers across the state’s 16 local government areas, also reported cases of vote-buying and voter intimidation.
In a joint statement, the groups said they recorded 24 incidents of electoral offences across nine local government areas, identifying vote-buying and voter intimidation as major concerns despite the generally peaceful conduct of the election.
The observers, however, commended the early deployment of election materials and personnel, as well as the orderly conduct witnessed in many polling units across the state.
