TMG Deploys Observers in 18 LGs For Edo Governorship Election •Sets Agenda For INEC, Others On Lapses From Recent Governorship Polls

TMG Media Office

September 7, 2016

PRESS RELEASE

TMG Deploys Observers in 18 LGs For Edo Governorship Election

·         Sets Agenda For INEC, Others On Lapses From Recent Governorship Polls

Nigeria’s foremost election observation coalition, the Transition Monitoring Group will be deploying observers in the 18 Local Government Areas of Edo State for the governorship election on Saturday, September 10, 2016. TMG Chairperson, Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi said the observers will closely watch the electoral process to ensure it substantially complies with the relevant national laws, as well as international conventions governing free, fair and credible polls.

The TMG helmswoman however stressed the need for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security agencies, as well as the political parties to learn from the experiences of previous elections. Specifically, Dr. Akiyode-Afolabi called on all stakeholders in Edo to ensure that the unsavoury incidents, which tainted the legitimacy of the electoral process in the in the Kogi State governorship election of November 21 and December 5, 2015, as well as the Bayelsa Governorship election of December 5, 2015 and January 9, 2016, do not occur again.

Dr Akiyode-Afolabi observed that with two governorship and several legislative rerun polls conducted on the watch of the current INEC and the security agencies, they are now experienced enough to anticipate and mitigate most of the threats that could undermine conclusive and credible polls in Nigeria.

She said: “TMG robustly observed the last two governorship elections conducted by INEC, and policed by the security agencies. That is why we want all stakeholders to pause and think of the observation findings from those polls, so that we can proactively find ways to prevent the kinds of problems we saw in the previous elections, and ensure the votes in Edo State count on Saturday. In the Bayelsa governorship election of December 5, 2015 for instance, TMG observed how the two leading political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), mobilized militants to do their bidding. This resulted in violence, harassment and intimidation of poll officials, voters and observers. In Edo State, the security agencies must be alive to their responsibilities to ensure that the kind of fierce and undemocratic political environment, does not undermine the vote or lead to an inconclusive process as it was in Bayelsa.”

With regards to the electoral process itself, the TMG Chairperson equally noted that there are lessons to be learnt in how the simultaneous accreditation and voting process fared in the last governorship election conducted by INEC. She said in Bayelsa, while INEC’s decision to merge the accreditation and voting processes was, in itself, a step towards international best practice, the timing of the decision, which resulted in a change of the electoral procedures 48 hours before the opening of the polls, did not allow enough time for officials to get acquainted with the new procedure.

“At TMG, we are convinced that stakeholders in the electoral process must take steps to ensure these kinds of lapses do not happen in Edo. If these issues are not addressed and the voting rights of citizens protected on Election Day, what we risk is apathy and an erosion of citizens’ trust in the electoral process,” she said.

According to Akiyode-Afolabi, all stakeholders must work to prevent the various infractions, which have marred previous elections, including the most serious critical incidents like ballot Box snatching/stuffing, intimidation and harassment of voters, poll officials, observers and political party poll agents, stealing of ballot papers, vote buying/bribery, observers not permitted to observe, not posting results, partisan poll officials and the refusal of some poll officials to count ballot papers.

   

Signed:

TMG Media Office