The Centre for Democracy and Development West Africa (CDD-West Africa) has released its preliminary findings on the November 16, 2024, Ondo State Governorship election, highlighting concerns over vote buying, voter suppression, and technical challenges despite generally peaceful conduct.
Through its Election Analysis Centre (CDD-EAC), which deployed 104 trained observers across all 18 Local Government Areas, the organization provided detailed insights into the electoral process.
In a statement released Saturday Director, CDD-West Africa, Dr. Dauda Garuba and Prof. Victor Adetula, leading the observation mission, reported significant party agent presence, with 77% of polling units having two political party agents and 12% having three, reflecting the competitive nature of the election.
“The election stakeholders were very active in the election, with 77% of our observers noting that polling units had two political party agents – referencing the strength of the frontrunners as identified in our pre-election report,” the statement noted.
On INEC’s preparedness, the report commended the early arrival of electoral officials, with 99% of observers confirming their presence before 8:30 am.
The Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was available at all observed polling units, though some technical issues were reported.
“At Akua l Post Office premises in Akungba Akoko LGA, Akoko South West, CDD-EAC observers reported a case of malfunctioning BVAS. Attempts to capture the fingerprint of both the elderly and younger voters were not successful, leading to delays in the voting process,” the statement revealed.
Concerning vote buying, the report detailed various incidents across local government areas.
“In Okitipupa LGA, Ward 09, Unit 003 (Irowa, Ilutitun 3), voters were solicited for their votes, with APC allegedly offering ₦10,000 per voter and PDP ₦3,000,” the observers reported.
The statement highlighted a concerning incident in Ward 005, PU 001, St Barnabas Primary School, Ifon:
“CDD-EAC observers saw policemen arguing over money shared by a party stalwart. The policemen reportedly frowned that about ten of them were given one hundred thousand, while only one official from another branch of the armed services allegedly got N15,000.”
On disinformation, the CDD Countering Disinformation War Room reported relatively low levels of false narratives compared to previous elections, with only 13 claims fact-checked during the campaign period and Election Day.
The preliminary report also noted voter suppression incidents, particularly in Akoko North West, Oke Agbe Ward 3, Unit 17, where observers reported that
“APC supporters overpowered the PDP agents and that security officials did not initially interfere until they were prompted to do so.”
“As at 2:30pm, 52% of our observers reported instances of people not allowed to vote owed to some challenges around the accreditation process such as people not being on the voter register and some not having their PVCs,” the statement added.
The CDD-EAC commended Ondo voters for their peaceful conduct while urging stakeholders to maintain adherence to the rule of law throughout the result collation process.
